China's hi-speed railway - Symbol of toil and efficiency of the Chinese people

[Martian2]

People's Daily Online -- China's light maglev "Zhonghua-06" made debut

China's light maglev "Zhonghua-06" made debut
UPDATED: 15:41, May 13, 2005

China's light maglev train "Zhonghua-06" made its debut in Dalian (in northeast China's Liaoning Province) on May 11, 2005.

What's the advantage of having an upside-down maglev?

"Englishman
May 15th, 2005, 01:21 AM
I can see big advantages of overhanging maglevs, though maintanance might be more tricky. Snow, flooding, leaves-on-the-track can all be avoided."

"hkskyline
May 13th, 2005, 08:40 PM
China's first overhang rail maglev train passes test run
13 May 2005
Xinhua's China Economic Information Service

BEIJING, May 13 (CEIS) -- The first Chinese-made overhang rail maglev train passed test run on May 12 in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The test train, "Zhonghua No. 6," is designed to run at a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour being overhanged from the track above, unlike other prototypes that are levitated above the rail and propelled forward by magnetic forces.

The new model, completely designed and developed by China itself, is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide and 1.87 meters high.With a designed transportation capacity of 80,000 passengers and 48,000 tons of cargo per hour, the train is designed for traffic between large and medium-sized cities.

The overhang rail technology applied to "Zhonghua No. 6" is expected to help reduce potential traffic accidents, said Li Lingqun, chief scientist of the team that developed the train.

China's first self-made maglev train "Zhonghua No. 1" made debut in Dalian in October last year after 16 years of research. The train is designed to run at a low speed of less than 110 kilometers per hour for urban traffic."

 

[Brotherhood]

China's high-speed train CRH380A put into service - People's Daily OnlineDecember 04, 2010

A train of CRH380A of China Railway High-Speed (CRH) enters into the Guangzhou south railway station in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangzhou Province, Dec. 3, 2010. China's high-speed train CRH380A, which has a maximum speed of 380 km/h during regular operations, and can keep a constant speed of 350 km/h, was put into service on the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed rail line on Friday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

Passengers are seen on a train of CRH380A of China Railway High-Speed (CRH) at the Guangzhou south railway station in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangzhou Province, Dec. 3, 2010. China's high-speed train CRH380A, which has a maximum speed of 380 km/h during regular operations, and can keep a constant speed of 350 km/h, was put into service on the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed rail line on Friday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

Photo taken on Dec. 3, 2010 shows a compartment on a train of CRH380A of China Railway High-Speed (CRH), in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangzhou Province. China's high-speed train CRH380A, which has a maximum speed of 380 km/h during regular operations, and can keep a constant speed of 350 km/h, was put into service on the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed rail line on Friday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

An excellent documentary from National Geographics Channel about the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway line.

Man Made Marvels: The World's fastest railway line

 

[Brotherhood]

China's high-speed rail network develops quickly - People's Daily OnlineDecember 07, 2010

Photo taken on Dec. 10, 2009 shows an interior view of the under-construction Wuhan Railway Station Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. The station costing more than 14 billion RMB yuan (2.4 billion U.S. dollars) was put into use on Dec. 20, 2009. It was the first station built for the Wuhan-Guangzhou high speed railway passenger special line. China operated a high-speed railway network with a combined length of 7,531 kilometers, the world's longest, said Chinese Railways Minister Liu Zhijun Tuesday while addressing the seventh World Congress on High Speed Rail held in Beijing, December 7, 2010. Liu said China's high-speed railways have been operating well, with reliable equipment and a good safety record. China's high-speed rail network has been developing quickly in recent years. A CRH380A train on last Friday set an operating speed record of 486.1 km per hour on a test run on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. China plans to build 13,000 km (8,078 miles) of high-speed railway by 2012. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

Photo taken on Dec. 22, 2009 shows two high-speed trains at the high-speed railway maintenance base in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua)

Photo taken on Feb. 6, 2010 shows a high-speed Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train coded G2004 running en route with a speed of 350km per hour from Xi'an to Zhengzhou, in Sanmenxia, central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua)

Photo taken on Dec. 26, 2009 shows a train G1001 setting out from Wuhan Railway Station in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua)

Photo taken on Oct. 20, 2010 shows a train CRH380A running out from the Hongqiao railway station, a terminal of the Shanghai-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway, in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua)

 

[IND151]

i want such train for India. we really need such train as our nation is gigantic and our huge population needs fast means of transport.

 

[ovarel]

Can we reconstruct the silk-road with those machines

 

[Brotherhood]

China links world with its high-speed rail technology - People's Daily OnlineDecember 09, 2010

"Building roads before building wealth," a widely known slogan in China, was cited by Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad.

Lengsavad was referring to a planned high speed railway for his country. As an inland country, Laos wants to counter its disadvantages of being land-locked by improving its transportation systems, Lengsavad said at the ongoing seventh World Congress on High Speed Rail in Beijing.

In April, Laos reached an agreement with China to establish a joint venture that will construct a railway linking China's southwestern Yunnan province and the Lao capital of Vientiane. The project will be launched in 2011, with an estimated construction time of four years, Lengsavad said.

Thailand, another country in Southeast Asia, is also partnering with China to improve its rail network.

In October, Thailand approved a negotiation framework for a project for Thailand-China cooperation on high-speed rail. Under the framework, the two countries will cooperate to build five railways designed for speeds of 250 km per hour at a cost of 22.5 to 25.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Regional traffic networks promote trade, investment as well as economic and social development, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban said at the conference.

China's high-speed rail is welcomed by its neighboring developing countries, not only for its competitive cost performance ratio, but for the great impetus it gives to economic and social development.

Some media even used "high-speed rail diplomacy" to describe the prosperity of China's construction of the rail network.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Chinese enterprises have begun to enter the U.S. market.

General Electric Co. (GE) has announced the company and China's largest rail vehicle maker China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited (CSR) will invest 50 million dollars in a U.S. based joint venture to make high-speed trains.

"It's very good they (GE) can find a world-class partner here in China to work with. I'm sure it will benefit both companies and both countries as a result," said Bill Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association.

Since 2003, China has signed agreements or memoranda of understanding for bilateral cooperation on rail with more than 30 countries, including the United States, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Poland and India.

In a post-crisis era, developing the low-carbon economy and seeking sustainable development has pushed for a third global wave of high-speed railway construction.

Under this circumstance, China's high-speed rail network has been developing quickly over the past years with a combined length totaling 7,531 kilometers, the world's longest.

During a latest test run on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in December, a CRH-380A train set a new speed record of 486.1 km per hour.

Chinese manufacturing sources said Tuesday China aimed to break the world high-speed rail record of 574.8 km per hour in a trial run next year.

All these are the basis for China's high-speed rail industry to "go abroad" and conduct international cooperation.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang said at the conference that China should open up wider to the outside world and enhance communication and cooperation with other countries in high-speed rail, while encouraging Chinese rail enterprises to "go abroad" and enhance friendship through cooperation.

Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, general director of the International Union of Railways (UIC), said the great development of Chinese high-speed rail has demonstrated that only by learning from each other can all seek a better and faster development.

"The cooperation on high-speed rail enhances cooperation between nations, thus advancing the industry to a higher standard," said E. Grillo Pasquarelli, director of Inland Transport of the European Commission.

Source:Xinhua

 

[Martian2]

KiwiRail's locos chug in from China - Local News - Bay of Plenty Times

"KiwiRail's locos chug in from China
Sandra Conchie | 22nd November 2010

The first six of Kiwirail's 20 new DL class locomotive engines were unloaded at the Port of Tauranga yesterday, an occasion anxiously anticipated and welcomed by all those involved with the almost $80 million project.

Vessel Beluga Foresight delivered its special cargo from China to the Port of Tauranga on Friday and the double-cab diesel locomotives, each weighing nearly 108 tonnes, were transported to the Norske Skog marshalling yard yesterday and lifted by cranes on to the railway tracks for closer inspection.

The first six of KiwiRail's 20 new DL class locomotives unloaded at the Port of Tauranga. (Photo / Sam Ackland)

Built by China's Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company to Kiwirail specifications, they are expected to be in service before Christmas.

They will be used on the Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga "golden triangle" freight route and also on Bay of Plenty forestry routes.

They have a 2,700kw engine, will be hauling 2,000 tonnes of freight and are expected to be 5 to 10 per cent more fuel efficient than the existing 149 fleet of engines.

Where they can replace two existing locomotives, the fuel saving is expected to reach almost 30 per cent.

A beaming KiwiRail project manager Scott Murray said the locomotives would undergo a thorough inspection and testing process in preparation for their commissioning before Christmas, including testing the braking system, stopping performance and the load pulling power.

Mr Murray said the new locomotives were the start of some significant investment by KiwiRail in its rolling stock and would have a huge impact on the turnaround capacity of freight haulage.

He said it was part of the company's strategic plan to grow the business and start to retire some of its old engines.

These are the first locomotives to have arrived in the country in nearly 35 years - the newest diesel locomotives in the current fleet are more than 34 years old and the oldest 45 years.

Chief designer Maoye Cong was on hand to make a closer inspection on Friday, followed by a special blessing by locomotive engineer Ricky Kura who has worked for KiwiRail for 34 years.

Mr Cong, who headed a team of 30 designers and worked closely with KiwiRail representatives on the design specifications, said it had been a challenging project, particularly because of the cultural and language differences but one he was very proud to be involved with.

"It's just like waiting to seeing a baby being born. Now it has arrived, it's very exciting."

Noting the first locomotive engine was number 9008 - the nine in Chinese symbolising longevity and eight meaning prosperity, also raised quite a few smiles among the KiwiRail staff.

Mr Murray said the remaining 14 locomotives in the $80 million purchase were due to arrive early next year and will deployed around the North Island."

Note: Thank you to "Schumacher" for the post.