High-speed rail in China

[citation needed] In 1995, Premier Li Peng announced that preparatory work on the Beijing Shanghai HSR would begin in the 9th Five Year Plan (1996–2000), but construction was not scheduled until the first decade of the 21st century.

In 1993, commercial train service in China averaged only 48 km/h (30 mph) and was steadily losing market share to airline and highway travel on the country's expanding network of expressways.

[19][20] The MOR focused modernization efforts on increasing the service speed and capacity on existing lines through double-tracking, electrification, improving grade (through tunnels and bridges), reducing turn curvature and installing continuous welded rail.

In June 1998, at a State Council meeting with the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering, Premier Zhu Rongji asked whether the high-speed railway between Beijing and Shanghai still being planned could use maglev technology.

Despite an unmatched advantage in speed, the maglev has not gained widespread use in China's high-speed rail network due to high costs, German refusals to share technology and concerns about safety.

The CRH380 series (or family) of trains was initially built with direct cooperation (or help) from foreign trainmakers, but newer trainsets are based on transferred technology, just like the Hexie and Fuxing Hao.

A Japanese report envisioned a winner-take all scenario in which the winning technology provider would supply China's trains for over 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of high-speed rail.

[32] All had to adapt their HSR train-sets to China's own common standard and assemble units through local joint ventures (JV) or cooperate with Chinese manufacturers.

[36] Of the 60 train sets, three were directly delivered from Nagoya, Japan, six were kits assembled at CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock, and the remaining 51 were made in China using transferred technology with domestic and imported parts.

The order had a similar delivery structure with three shipped directly from Savigliano along with six kits assembled by CNR's CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, and the rest locally made with transferred technology and some imported parts.

Initiated by MOR's 2004 "Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network Plan", a national grid composed of eight high-speed rail corridors, four running north–south and four going east–west, was to be constructed.

[57] After the political shake-up, concerns about HSR safety, high ticket prices, financial sustainability and environmental impact received greater scrutiny in the Chinese press.

[59] On June 13, 2011, the MOR clarified in a press conference that the speed reduction was not due to safety concerns but to offer more affordable tickets for trains at 250 km/h (155 mph) and increase ridership.

[50][67] Under political and public pressure, the National Audit Office (NAO) carried out an extensive investigation into the building quality of all high-speed rail lines.

[79][80][81] The Wenzhou train accident and the lack of accountability by railway officials caused a public uproar and heightened concerns about the safety and management of China's high-speed rail system.

[104] By the end of 2012, the total length of high-speed rail tracks had reached 9,300 km (5,800 mi), and ridership rebounded and exceeded levels prior to the Wenzhou crash.

[116] The government actively promoted the export of high-speed rail technology to countries including Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, India, Russia and Turkey.

The plan envisions a larger 8+8 high speed rail grid serving the nation and expanded intercity lines for regional and commuter services for large metropolitan areas of China.

[132] The safety issue that drew the attention of the public and the government was the Wenzhou train collision which happened on July 23, 2011, in which 40 people died, 172 were injured, and 54 related officials blamed and punished.

[140] The government also articulated the importance and urgency of assuring the capacity of railway staff, especially their familiarity with telecommunication and signaling testing in the official investigation of the Wenzhou train collision.

[143] In addition, it is hard to identify problems in the construction process, given the distribution resource planning system needed for rapid railway building and assembling.

Suppliers and manufacturers blame each other for any problem detected in the trial operation, while tracking the construction process to every single detail is an almost impossible job for inspectors.

[132] Critics both in China and abroad have questioned the necessity of having an expensive high-speed rail system in a largely developing country, where most workers cannot afford to pay a premium for faster travel.

HSR provides fast, reliable and comfortable means of transporting large numbers of travelers in a densely populated country over long distances,[144][145] which: One major concern of the high-speed rail network is the high amount of debt incurred.

[180] According to the World Bank, a stable long term planning and standardization of technology and design used in the high-speed rail helps to reduce financial and operational cost.

[citation needed] A 2019 study by the World Bank Group, had found that the HSR fares in China are low when compared to other countries and have attracted passengers from all income levels.

[208] In 2007, CRH EMU trains running on conventional track upgraded in the sixth round of the "Speed-up Campaign" carried 61 million passengers, before the country's first high-speed rail line, the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway, opened in August 2008.

[209][210][211][212] In October 2016 China's CRRC announced that it was beginning research and development on a 600 km/h (373 mph) Maglev train and would build a 5 km (3.1 mi) test track.

[215][216] Typical application of track technology in China high-speed lines Chinese train-makers and rail builders have signed agreements to build HSRs in Turkey, Venezuela, Argentina,[217] and Indonesia[218] and are bidding on HSR projects in the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil (São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro) and Myanmar, and other countries.

[219] China is also competing with Japan, Germany, South Korea, Spain, France and Italy to bid for California's high-speed rail line project, which would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The Asia Express steam locomotive, which operated commercially from 1934 to 1943 in Manchuria , could reach 130 km/h (81 mph) and was one of the fastest trains in Asia.
In the early 1990s, diesel locomotives in China could attain a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) on passenger trains. Here, a DF4 diesel locomotive is shown hauling passenger coaches on the Guangzhou–Sanshui Railway at Foshan in 2008.
The Shanghai maglev train running on a special maglev track, departing the Shanghai Pudong International Airport . The maglev train can reach a top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph).
Former Railway Minister Liu Zhijun hosting Nancy Pelosi and Edward Markey , members of the United States Congress , in Beijing in 2009.
Maximum speed of CRH380A train on Shanghai–Hangzhou high-speed railway before the Wenzhou accident was around 350km/h. Since 2017, with the introduction of the Fuxing series of trains, this line has resumed 350km/h operations.
A comprehensive inspection train (CRH380B) designed for performance under high altitude and low temperature conditions in Northeast China.
The Guiyang–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway under construction in Yangshuo , Guangxi in August 2013. This line traverses 270 caves and 510 valleys in the karst landscape of southwest China . [ 101 ] Bridges and tunnels comprise 83% of this line's total length of 857 km, including 92% in Guizhou Province . [ 101 ] Travel time by train between Guizhou and Guangzhou was reduced from 20 hours to 4 hours. [ 102 ]
Double heading of CR400AF and CR400BF, two China Standardized EMU models built by different manufacturers, at Beijing West railway station in February 2017
Over 85% of track on the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway is laid on viaducts. Chinese builders use elevated lines to keep high-speed rail tracks straight and level over uneven terrain, and to save on land acquisition costs.
A prefabricated section of the elevated track being installed on the Harbin–Dalian High Speed Railway in October 2010
Traffic density and market share of conventional and high-speed rail on major corridors from 2001 to 2013
Shangrao railway station with a 380BL train serving the Hefei–Fuzhou HSR on the upper platforms and a 380A train serving the Hangzhou–Changsha HSR in the lower platform.
Workers on the Shenzhen section of Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway in May 2011
The CRH5 intercity train on the Changchun–Jilin Intercity railway .
Map showing projected high-speed rail network in China by 2020 and the travel time by rail from Beijing to each of the provincial capitals.
Map of "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway network plan (in English)
The Shangqiu-Hangzhou HSR, part of the Harbin-Hong Kong (Macau) corridor, under construction in Shangqiu , Henan Province , in February 2017. The elevated HSR runs next to the conventional speed Beijing–Kowloon Railway .
Passenger tapping China Resident ID Card to board a high-speed train on China Railway High-speed.
Business class compartment inside a CRH380BL train.
Buffet car inside CRH1 train.
CRH2-E High speed sleeper train with separate windows for the beds in two levels.
Ballastless tracks in China.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev aboard a high-speed train in Hainan in April 2011.
The Shanghai Maglev train, with a top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph), is the fastest train in China. The maglev train has remained confined to its original 30 km (19 mi) track as state planners chose high-speed trains that run on conventional tracks for the national HSR network.