cirr
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China HSR News And Information: Original Translation
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cirr
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High-speed rail to link central China cities next year
Jun 26,2016
WUHAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Tracks started to be laid on Sunday in Yangxin County in central China's Hubei Province for a high-speed railway linking Wuhan, the provincial capital, and Jiujiang City in Jiangxi Province.
The 198-kilometer line will be put into operation in the first half of 2017, linking Hubei's Wuhan, Ezhou, Huangshi, and Yangxin and Jiujiang.
With 19.4 billion yuan (2.95 billion U.S. dollars) of investment, the project broke ground in 2014 and is designed to support trains at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour.
When completed, it will take an hour to travel between Wuhan and Jiujiang, instead of about three hours by train at present.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=329920
Jun 26,2016
WUHAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Tracks started to be laid on Sunday in Yangxin County in central China's Hubei Province for a high-speed railway linking Wuhan, the provincial capital, and Jiujiang City in Jiangxi Province.
The 198-kilometer line will be put into operation in the first half of 2017, linking Hubei's Wuhan, Ezhou, Huangshi, and Yangxin and Jiujiang.
With 19.4 billion yuan (2.95 billion U.S. dollars) of investment, the project broke ground in 2014 and is designed to support trains at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour.
When completed, it will take an hour to travel between Wuhan and Jiujiang, instead of about three hours by train at present.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=329920
cirr
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CHINA TRAINS HIGH SPEED TRAIN DRIVERS IN VR WITH HTC VIVE
Posted: Jun 21 2016, 6:04am CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr, in News | Technology News
Credit: Xinhua
The HTC Vive makes professional simulations dramatically affordable. Watch a high speed train driver reacting to an emergency in VR.
Virtual Reality has been thriving in the training of pilots since the advent of virtual reality. Flight simulators and other training facilities use VR in some form. The new generation of VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are good enough for professional simulations.
In a video published by China's Xinhua, a high speed train driver is training an emergency. He is wearing an HTC Vive and uses Vive's controllers to pull levers, open cabinets and more in rapid succession. The guy is likely also a pro in Call of Duty.
I have noticed already several times that professionals prefer the HTC Vive. Every time I spot a professional VR application, the HTC Vive is used and not the Rift. The availability of the controllers are a big advantage for HTC and the availability. HTC Also launched a special HTC Vive for business program
http://www.i4u.com/2016/06/112576/china-trains-high-speed-train-drivers-vr-htc-vive
@TaiShang
Posted: Jun 21 2016, 6:04am CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr, in News | Technology News
Credit: Xinhua
The HTC Vive makes professional simulations dramatically affordable. Watch a high speed train driver reacting to an emergency in VR.
Virtual Reality has been thriving in the training of pilots since the advent of virtual reality. Flight simulators and other training facilities use VR in some form. The new generation of VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are good enough for professional simulations.
In a video published by China's Xinhua, a high speed train driver is training an emergency. He is wearing an HTC Vive and uses Vive's controllers to pull levers, open cabinets and more in rapid succession. The guy is likely also a pro in Call of Duty.
I have noticed already several times that professionals prefer the HTC Vive. Every time I spot a professional VR application, the HTC Vive is used and not the Rift. The availability of the controllers are a big advantage for HTC and the availability. HTC Also launched a special HTC Vive for business program
http://www.i4u.com/2016/06/112576/china-trains-high-speed-train-drivers-vr-htc-vive
@TaiShang
TaiShang
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CHINA TRAINS HIGH SPEED TRAIN DRIVERS IN VR WITH HTC VIVE
Posted: Jun 21 2016, 6:04am CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr, in News | Technology News
Credit: Xinhua
The HTC Vive makes professional simulations dramatically affordable. Watch a high speed train driver reacting to an emergency in VR.
Virtual Reality has been thriving in the training of pilots since the advent of virtual reality. Flight simulators and other training facilities use VR in some form. The new generation of VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are good enough for professional simulations.
In a video published by China's Xinhua, a high speed train driver is training an emergency. He is wearing an HTC Vive and uses Vive's controllers to pull levers, open cabinets and more in rapid succession. The guy is likely also a pro in Call of Duty.
I have noticed already several times that professionals prefer the HTC Vive. Every time I spot a professional VR application, the HTC Vive is used and not the Rift. The availability of the controllers are a big advantage for HTC and the availability. HTC Also launched a special HTC Vive for business program
http://www.i4u.com/2016/06/112576/china-trains-high-speed-train-drivers-vr-htc-vive
@TaiShang
Looks like HTC is shifting business focus. Hope they will seek cooperation with CRRC.
TaiShang
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World's highest altitude train line
Photo taken on June 22, 2016 shows the section of the Qinghai-Tibet railway near the Tanggula Mountains, northwest China's Qinghai Province. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
A worker discharge sewage from a train at the Golmud Station of the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Golmud, northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 26, 2016. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Photo taken on May 28, 2016 shows the Nagqu section of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Tibetan antelopes graze near the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Hoh Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, March 11, 2016. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Photo taken on May 28, 2016 shows Tibetan antelopes near the Qinghai-Tibet railway, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Tibetan antelopes move near the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Hoh Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 7, 2016. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Photo taken on June 22, 2016 shows the section of the Qinghai-Tibet railway near the Tanggula Mountains, northwest China's Qinghai Province. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
A worker discharge sewage from a train at the Golmud Station of the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Golmud, northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 26, 2016. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Photo taken on May 28, 2016 shows the Nagqu section of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Tibetan antelopes graze near the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Hoh Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, March 11, 2016. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Photo taken on May 28, 2016 shows Tibetan antelopes near the Qinghai-Tibet railway, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
Tibetan antelopes move near the Qinghai-Tibet railway in Hoh Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 7, 2016. The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest altitude train line, has been put into service for 10 years. It links Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China. [Photo: Xinhua]
ahojunk
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China Upgrades Plan to Boost Rail Network
2016-06-30 00:46:29 Xinhua Web Editor: Luo Bin
A China Railways high speed train stands at Wuqing Railway Station in Tianjin, China, on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Premier Li Keqiang last week set this year's growth target at about 7 percent, which would be China's slowest full-year expansion since 1990. [Photo: CFP]
China put forth a more comprehensive plan for further expanding the country's rail network at a State Council meeting on Wednesday, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
The railway is China's key means of transportation and the lifeline of China's economy. The new plan aims for more balanced national railway construction, bringing greater accessibility to more parts of China.
It also aims to build a comprehensive transportation network together with road, water and air transportation.
Li stressed at the meeting that developing the rail sector remains of critical importance to China.
"At present, it is still a pressing task for us to expand China's railway network. It is the lifeline of the economy," Li said.
"When compared to developed countries similar in size, the length of China's operating railways is still not long enough, and railway construction is important for stabilizing economic growth and structural reform especially in central and western China," he said.
In 2008, China's National Development and Reform Commission issued a national railway plan, targeting an operating rail network of more than 120,000 km by the year 2020. The new plan approved on Wednesday is an upgrade of the 2008 plan.
According to the new plan, by the year 2020, China's railway network will reach a total of 150,000 km, of which about 30,000 km are high speed railway. Key measures include expanding the high-speed rail network to eight rail lines north to south, and eight lines east to west. Inter-city rails will also be gradually enhanced. Once achieved, rail travel between neighboring major and medium-sized cities will take no more than four hours.
Statistics from China's National Development and Reform Commission show that by 2015, China had an operating rail length of 121,000 km, of which 19,000 km were high-speed rail.
Over the past several years, high-speed railways have been developing rapidly, and have made transportation between big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and lower-tier cities much more convenient.
The new plan also envisages boosting rail construction in central and western areas to achieve a more balanced development among regions.
During the meeting, Li said that more innovation is required in resolving problems encountered in rail development.
"We should seek innovation in developing China's railway project with both social and economic implication in mind, and this new plan should be planned well in advance with consideration not only given to demand, but also financial feasibility," Li said.
He also pointed out during the meeting that China Railway, China's national railway operator, needs to press ahead with self-reform and work hard to build a modern corporate system and finance through marketable ways so as to play a key role in the country's railway development.
2016-06-30 00:46:29 Xinhua Web Editor: Luo Bin
A China Railways high speed train stands at Wuqing Railway Station in Tianjin, China, on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Premier Li Keqiang last week set this year's growth target at about 7 percent, which would be China's slowest full-year expansion since 1990. [Photo: CFP]
China put forth a more comprehensive plan for further expanding the country's rail network at a State Council meeting on Wednesday, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
The railway is China's key means of transportation and the lifeline of China's economy. The new plan aims for more balanced national railway construction, bringing greater accessibility to more parts of China.
It also aims to build a comprehensive transportation network together with road, water and air transportation.
Li stressed at the meeting that developing the rail sector remains of critical importance to China.
"At present, it is still a pressing task for us to expand China's railway network. It is the lifeline of the economy," Li said.
"When compared to developed countries similar in size, the length of China's operating railways is still not long enough, and railway construction is important for stabilizing economic growth and structural reform especially in central and western China," he said.
In 2008, China's National Development and Reform Commission issued a national railway plan, targeting an operating rail network of more than 120,000 km by the year 2020. The new plan approved on Wednesday is an upgrade of the 2008 plan.
According to the new plan, by the year 2020, China's railway network will reach a total of 150,000 km, of which about 30,000 km are high speed railway. Key measures include expanding the high-speed rail network to eight rail lines north to south, and eight lines east to west. Inter-city rails will also be gradually enhanced. Once achieved, rail travel between neighboring major and medium-sized cities will take no more than four hours.
Statistics from China's National Development and Reform Commission show that by 2015, China had an operating rail length of 121,000 km, of which 19,000 km were high-speed rail.
Over the past several years, high-speed railways have been developing rapidly, and have made transportation between big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and lower-tier cities much more convenient.
The new plan also envisages boosting rail construction in central and western areas to achieve a more balanced development among regions.
During the meeting, Li said that more innovation is required in resolving problems encountered in rail development.
"We should seek innovation in developing China's railway project with both social and economic implication in mind, and this new plan should be planned well in advance with consideration not only given to demand, but also financial feasibility," Li said.
He also pointed out during the meeting that China Railway, China's national railway operator, needs to press ahead with self-reform and work hard to build a modern corporate system and finance through marketable ways so as to play a key role in the country's railway development.
ahojunk
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I wonder how many trips will be made on the HSR network......
No wonder the HSR network is profitable quite quickly providing a nice ROI.
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China Expects 560 Mln Summer Rail Trips
2016-06-30 16:42:14 Xinhua Web Editor: Meng Xue
Official data shows 560 million rail trips will be made during the upcoming two-month summer travel peak, up 55.5 million from one year earlier. [File Photo: gov.cn]
A total of 560 million rail trips will be made during the upcoming two-month summer travel peak, up 55.5 million from one year earlier, the China Railway Corporation forecast on Thursday.
The daily number of trips made on the country's railways is expected to reach 9.03 million, representing an increase of 11 percent year on year.
To meet growing travel demand, railway authorities will put more trains into service during the traditional travel rush, which lasts from July 1 to Aug. 31.
China's rail network has been expanding at a staggering rate in recent years. It reached 121,000 km in total distance at the end of 2015, ranking second in the world.
China has more high-speed railway lines than anywhere else. Of the 121,000 km of track, nearly 20,000 km was high-speed.
No wonder the HSR network is profitable quite quickly providing a nice ROI.
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China Expects 560 Mln Summer Rail Trips
2016-06-30 16:42:14 Xinhua Web Editor: Meng Xue
Official data shows 560 million rail trips will be made during the upcoming two-month summer travel peak, up 55.5 million from one year earlier. [File Photo: gov.cn]
A total of 560 million rail trips will be made during the upcoming two-month summer travel peak, up 55.5 million from one year earlier, the China Railway Corporation forecast on Thursday.
The daily number of trips made on the country's railways is expected to reach 9.03 million, representing an increase of 11 percent year on year.
To meet growing travel demand, railway authorities will put more trains into service during the traditional travel rush, which lasts from July 1 to Aug. 31.
China's rail network has been expanding at a staggering rate in recent years. It reached 121,000 km in total distance at the end of 2015, ranking second in the world.
China has more high-speed railway lines than anywhere else. Of the 121,000 km of track, nearly 20,000 km was high-speed.
AndrewJin
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Can't wait the hsr mileage to surpass 20000km late this year!
ahojunk
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China approves blueprint for rail construction
China approves blueprint for rail construction
CCTV English
Published on 30 Jun 2016
China approves blueprint for rail construction
CCTV English
Published on 30 Jun 2016
TaiShang
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China to invest US$422B in railways over 5 years
chinadaily.com.cn, July 1, 2016
China plans to invest more than 2.8 trillion yuan ($421.68 billion) into railway construction, building no less than 23,000 kilometers of new rail lines during the 13th five-year plan period (2016-2020), the Economic Information Daily reports.
The "medium and long term railway network plan" is aimed at further expanding the country's rail network. It was approved during a State Council meeting on June 29, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
The new plan targets more balanced national rail construction, bringing greater accessibility to more parts of the country. It also aims to build a comprehensive network covering rail, road, water and air transportation.
The country experienced a railway boom during the 12th five-year plan period, with total fixed-asset investment reaching 3.58 trillion yuan and putting 30,500 km of new lines into operation.
According to the new plan, the country will build more than 23,000 km of new railway over the next five years, with a total investment of at least 2.8 trillion yuan.
Wang Mengshu, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academic, told the newspaper China's railway construction was speeding up and driving some related industries, such as metallurgy, machinery, building, computers and precision instruments.
He says railway construction creates many jobs and has enormous significance for sound economic growth and structural adjustment.
It's one of the best options to ward off economic downward pressure, Wang added.
chinadaily.com.cn, July 1, 2016
China plans to invest more than 2.8 trillion yuan ($421.68 billion) into railway construction, building no less than 23,000 kilometers of new rail lines during the 13th five-year plan period (2016-2020), the Economic Information Daily reports.
The "medium and long term railway network plan" is aimed at further expanding the country's rail network. It was approved during a State Council meeting on June 29, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
The new plan targets more balanced national rail construction, bringing greater accessibility to more parts of the country. It also aims to build a comprehensive network covering rail, road, water and air transportation.
The country experienced a railway boom during the 12th five-year plan period, with total fixed-asset investment reaching 3.58 trillion yuan and putting 30,500 km of new lines into operation.
According to the new plan, the country will build more than 23,000 km of new railway over the next five years, with a total investment of at least 2.8 trillion yuan.
Wang Mengshu, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academic, told the newspaper China's railway construction was speeding up and driving some related industries, such as metallurgy, machinery, building, computers and precision instruments.
He says railway construction creates many jobs and has enormous significance for sound economic growth and structural adjustment.
It's one of the best options to ward off economic downward pressure, Wang added.
AndrewJin
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need more trunk routes in the west!
and some parallel routes along existing over-occupied corridors like 2nd Shanghai-Beijing HSR and 2nd Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu HSR!
TaiShang
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Yes, the West appears to be wide open for further HSR investment/expansion. I guess this will go hand in hand with population consolidation in rural areas, which will create cluster urban areas.
ahojunk
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HSR needs careful planning for it to be successful and beneficial to the rural areas.
It may not be a silver bullet.
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High-Speed Train No Silver Bullet for Rural Economy
Despite state-of-the-art infrastructure, Premier Li Keqiang’s hometown Dingyuan struggles to find its economic footing.
Lu Hongyong - Sixth Tone
Jun 23, 2016
Apart from considerable reserves of rock salt deposits, there’s nothing that really makes Dingyuan County, in the impoverished eastern province of Anhui, stand out. Rock salt, and the fact that China’s second most powerful man, Premier Li Keqiang, calls this place his ancestral home.
Yet even this association hasn’t helped the county much, as it, like many other cities, towns, and counties throughout China, struggles to figure out ways to grow its local economy into the future.
Dingyuan did get a boost when it was selected in 2009 as one of 24 locations to get its own bullet train station on a 1,318-kilometer high-speed railway line connecting Beijing and Shanghai. The line opened in 2011.
Typically, competition between cities and towns to be chosen for inclusion in the high-speed rail infrastructure is intense. Conferring a spot on the advanced transport grid is highly coveted because of the promise it represents in the shape of new visitors, increased real-estate prices, and improved logistics links to the rest of the country.
When Dingyuan was selected, there was much debate over whether the decision was economically feasible. There are two other stops nearby, each just over 10 minutes away. Now, after five years of operation, it is becoming apparent that putting Dingyuan on the high-speed rail map has not been the catalyst for economic activity that many had hoped it would be.
“There’s no real industry in Dingyuan,” said Zhang Cunqiang, an entrepreneur and general manager of a wholesaling and advertising company in the town. “There aren’t many employment opportunities.”
What’s happening in Dingyuan offers a window on the broader developmental challenges China faces as it tries to sustain economic growth, which from 2002 to 2011 averaged in the double digits at 10.6 percent, according to World Bank data. In recent years, however, that rate has fallen to single digits: In 2015 China’s GDP grew by just 6.9 percent. Economic growth for Anhui province was slightly more encouraging, with 2015 GDP growth of 8.7 percent.
Dingyuan’s inability to leverage infrastructure investment into productive assets capable of transforming the economy and lives of its citizens also stands to highlight other challenges to transforming the economy at grass roots such as the need to remove red tape and stem the hollowing-out of villages and towns in the country’s heartland.
The county’s main town, also called Dingyuan, was for many years a small, dusty town with a population of just 10,000 people. Gradually, farmland was replaced by high-rise apartment buildings and paved boulevards. In the course of the last decade, as the push for urbanization gathered momentum, that expanded to 170,000 residents, while the population of the county as a whole nears 1 million.
The high-speed rail has brought some quality-of-life improvements. A decade ago a trip to Beijing would have taken days by bus and train. Today the capital is easily accessible in 6 hours, as is Shanghai in just 2 hours. In a village about a mile away from the station, Zhang Guoyin, 57, has fallen in love with the bullet trains. “It used to take days for my son to come home from working in the garment industry in Liaoning province,” he said. “Now he’s able to get on a morning train and be home by lunchtime.”
The arrival of the bullet train has also boosted the economic prospects of service providers such as taxi driver Shan Chenggang, 41, who picks up and drops off customers to the station. “There are about 2,000 passengers coming through the station every day,” he said, adding that this was a tenfold increase from the first few years of the trains’ operations.
Still, the station isn’t bustling. At noontime on a recent weekday in May, there were no more than a dozen people waiting in the station’s cavernous departure hall.
A man is fishing. In the background is the high-speed train station in Dingyuan, Anhui province, May 24, 2016.
Han Meng/Sixth Tone
It may not be a silver bullet.
--------
High-Speed Train No Silver Bullet for Rural Economy
Despite state-of-the-art infrastructure, Premier Li Keqiang’s hometown Dingyuan struggles to find its economic footing.
Lu Hongyong - Sixth Tone
Jun 23, 2016
Apart from considerable reserves of rock salt deposits, there’s nothing that really makes Dingyuan County, in the impoverished eastern province of Anhui, stand out. Rock salt, and the fact that China’s second most powerful man, Premier Li Keqiang, calls this place his ancestral home.
Yet even this association hasn’t helped the county much, as it, like many other cities, towns, and counties throughout China, struggles to figure out ways to grow its local economy into the future.
Dingyuan did get a boost when it was selected in 2009 as one of 24 locations to get its own bullet train station on a 1,318-kilometer high-speed railway line connecting Beijing and Shanghai. The line opened in 2011.
Typically, competition between cities and towns to be chosen for inclusion in the high-speed rail infrastructure is intense. Conferring a spot on the advanced transport grid is highly coveted because of the promise it represents in the shape of new visitors, increased real-estate prices, and improved logistics links to the rest of the country.
When Dingyuan was selected, there was much debate over whether the decision was economically feasible. There are two other stops nearby, each just over 10 minutes away. Now, after five years of operation, it is becoming apparent that putting Dingyuan on the high-speed rail map has not been the catalyst for economic activity that many had hoped it would be.
“There’s no real industry in Dingyuan,” said Zhang Cunqiang, an entrepreneur and general manager of a wholesaling and advertising company in the town. “There aren’t many employment opportunities.”
What’s happening in Dingyuan offers a window on the broader developmental challenges China faces as it tries to sustain economic growth, which from 2002 to 2011 averaged in the double digits at 10.6 percent, according to World Bank data. In recent years, however, that rate has fallen to single digits: In 2015 China’s GDP grew by just 6.9 percent. Economic growth for Anhui province was slightly more encouraging, with 2015 GDP growth of 8.7 percent.
Dingyuan’s inability to leverage infrastructure investment into productive assets capable of transforming the economy and lives of its citizens also stands to highlight other challenges to transforming the economy at grass roots such as the need to remove red tape and stem the hollowing-out of villages and towns in the country’s heartland.
The county’s main town, also called Dingyuan, was for many years a small, dusty town with a population of just 10,000 people. Gradually, farmland was replaced by high-rise apartment buildings and paved boulevards. In the course of the last decade, as the push for urbanization gathered momentum, that expanded to 170,000 residents, while the population of the county as a whole nears 1 million.
The high-speed rail has brought some quality-of-life improvements. A decade ago a trip to Beijing would have taken days by bus and train. Today the capital is easily accessible in 6 hours, as is Shanghai in just 2 hours. In a village about a mile away from the station, Zhang Guoyin, 57, has fallen in love with the bullet trains. “It used to take days for my son to come home from working in the garment industry in Liaoning province,” he said. “Now he’s able to get on a morning train and be home by lunchtime.”
The arrival of the bullet train has also boosted the economic prospects of service providers such as taxi driver Shan Chenggang, 41, who picks up and drops off customers to the station. “There are about 2,000 passengers coming through the station every day,” he said, adding that this was a tenfold increase from the first few years of the trains’ operations.
Still, the station isn’t bustling. At noontime on a recent weekday in May, there were no more than a dozen people waiting in the station’s cavernous departure hall.
A man is fishing. In the background is the high-speed train station in Dingyuan, Anhui province, May 24, 2016.
Han Meng/Sixth Tone
ahojunk
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New high-speed rail station put into trial operation in Urumqi
(Xinhua) 10:16, July 02, 2016
URUMQI, July 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A passenger poses for pictures beside a bullet train on the platform of a new HSR station in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Region, July 1, 2016. The station, which is the railway junction with the largest scale and the most advanced facilities in Xinjiang, was put into trial operation on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Yunjia)
URUMQI, July 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A passenger in a bullet train at a new HSR station in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Region, July 1, 2016. The station, which is the railway junction with the largest scale and the most advanced facilities in Xinjiang, was put into trial operation on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Yunjia)
(Xinhua) 10:16, July 02, 2016
URUMQI, July 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A passenger poses for pictures beside a bullet train on the platform of a new HSR station in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Region, July 1, 2016. The station, which is the railway junction with the largest scale and the most advanced facilities in Xinjiang, was put into trial operation on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Yunjia)
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