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

[cloneman]

Express railway between Hong Kong and southern China
HONG KONG, Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) - An express rail link will be built between Hong Kong and southern Chinese cities Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said Thursday.

Tsang said the new line would significantly reduce travel time between the Asian financial hub and booming industrial cities over the border in mainland China. Train travel between Hong Kong and Guangzhou currently takes two hours.

"This will...help strengthen Hong Kong's status as the regional transportation hub and as the 'southern gate' for travelling to and from the mainland," Tsang said in a statement.

The chief executive made the announcement after holding a cooperation conference with Huang Huahua, governor of Guangdong province which includes the two cities.

During the meeting, both sides reiterated their commitment on reducing emissions, mostly from booming industries in the province, often blamed for air pollution in Hong Kong.

Guangdong authorities also promised to toughen checks on food supplies coming over the border into Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has been plagued by health scares over imported produce mainly from mainland China which is the city's principle source of foodstuffs.

Imports of farmed fish, eels and eggs were banned last year after cancer-causing chemicals were found in some samples.

---------- Post added at 03:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:09 AM ----------

 

[cloneman]

---------- Post added at 03:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:13 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 AM ----------

 

[cloneman]

---------- Post added at 03:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:17 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:17 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:17 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:18 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 03:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:18 AM ----------

 

[cloneman]

 

[cloneman]

China Invites Bulgaria to Join High-Speed Asia-Europe Rail with Turkey
China has formally invited Bulgaria to join together with Turkey a project for a high-speed railway connection from the Far East to Europe.

The invitation resulted from talks in Beijing between Bulgarian Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov and China's Minister of Transport Li Shenglin, Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, and leading Chinese railway companies, the press service of the Bulgarian Transport Ministry announced.

The Ministry said the Bulgarian government is going to take part in trilateral talks with China and Turkey on the high-speed China-Europe rail. After that, in December 2010, the three countries are expected to sign a trilateral cooperation agreement on freight rail services.

The transport authorities of Bulgaria and China have also decided to set up a bilateral contact group "because there is a strong interest on part of China," the Transport Ministry announced.

Tsvetkov also presented Bulgaria as a destination for investments in transport infrastructure to journalists from Radio China, Radio Beijing, and the English-language paper Economy Daily News.

The news about China's luring Bulgaria into the high-speed Asia-Europe rail project comes after on Wednesday Tsvetkov invited his counterpart Li Shenglin on part of the People's Republic of China to consider investment opportunities in the field of transport and infrastructure.

Bulgaria and China are considering setting up a joint venture for sea port infrastructure as well as offering concessions of Bulgarian sea and river ports to Chinese companies.

"China is a first-rate partner of Bulgaria. Bulgaria is in the position to offer maximum good conditions to port operators. We believe that the Bulgarian ports can be attractive enough to compete with the routes of Central and Eastern Asia," Tsvetkov told Li Shenglin, as cited by the press service of the Transport Ministry.

The visit of the Bulgarian government delegation in China comes in the wake of several months of intensive contacts between the Bulgarian government and Chinese central and provincial authorities as well as companies on various potential joint projects such as the Bozhurishte Industrial Zone near Sofia.

Bulgaria's Economy Minister Traicho Traikov has stated several times that China was interest in receiving concessions over Bulgarian airport and ports in order to use them as a base for its exports to the EU and wider Europe.

As soon as Transport Minister Tsvetkov's visit to China was first announced, the Bulgarian government made it clear it would focus on considering options for long-term cooperation between the Freight Directorate of the Bulgarian state railway company BDZ and Chinese railway operators in the context of China's project to launch a railway connection to Central and Western Europe through Central Asia, Turkey, and Bulgaria, the so called China-Europe high-speed rail link.

Bulgaria: China Invites Bulgaria to Join High-Speed Asia-Europe Rail with Turkey - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

 

[Martian2]

The attraction of China's HSRs is that they are far more fuel-efficient than airplanes per passenger-mile. The goal is to transport as many passengers as possible via HSR, instead of by airplane.

China's world's-fastest HSR trains travel at 350 kph, which is 210 mph. There is a problem of increasing air resistance in attempting to significantly push the speed of the Chinese HSRs. To solve the problem of air resistance, a super-fast pressurized train needs to travel in a near-vacuum tunnel.

A HSR generates significant heat/friction where the wheels contact the rails. However, a maglev generates no friction (e.g. no energy loss and heat removal problem) and it is a superior choice for a near-vacuum tunnel.

China Developing a Train That Will Run at 620 Miles Per Hour | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

"China Developing Maglev Train That Can Go 1000kph
by Brit Liggett, 08/05/10

Get ready for some high speed transport action – Chinese researchers are currently developing a vacuum maglev train that they believe will run at speeds up to 620 miles per hour. This is just a few years after Japan announced their — then totally awe inspiring — plans for a maglev train that would run at 310 mph. The train will run on magnetic levitation tracks built into vacuum tubes underground and will be sucked along at an average speed of almost 400 miles per hour. What’s the cost for this zippy technology, you ask? A mere $2.95 million more than the current high speed rail for each kilometer of track.

Maglev trains utilize a system of very large magnets to lift and propel train cars. The magnetic system is able to move at high speeds while being quieter and smoother than a traditional wheeled mass transit train. The current world record for speed on a maglev train is 361 miles per hour and was set in Japan in 2003. The Chinese plan to blow this record out of the water by coupling their maglev technology with underground tunnels that will act as vacuums.

The most common problem facing high speed transit is air friction that slows train cars down. The Chinese plan to eliminate this problem with their vacuum tunnels and say their trains will not have to compete with air friction while they travel. Researchers say that the trains could be ready for action in ten years. Though this high speed wonder seems like a great idea, the economic cost of the technology is staggering. With the added price tag of the vacuum tunnels to make these trains extra speedy, we’re wondering if the time saved traveling on these record breaking trains will really be worth the impact of their construction.

Via Engadget"

 

[Brotherhood]

Foucus: Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway marks 6th milestone - People's Daily Online

The first train on the newly operated high-speed railway from Hangzhou to Shanghai runs through Jiashan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 26, 2010. The 202-kilometer Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway, with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, began operation on Tuesday morning. (Source: Zjol.com.cn/)


For a long time, journalists have used cameras to track the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway as it marked six historic moments. High-speed trains began traveling between the eastern Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou on Oct.26 morning, the latest milestone in China's effort to build the world's fastest rail network.

During a trial run earlier last month, the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed line stunned the world when in a train hit a speed of 416.6 kilometers per hour, a world train speed

Xu Xiaochun, a villager, eyes the high-speed train as it passes the window and quickly captures this moment. (Source: Zjol.com.cn)

A high-speed train arrives via the railway line at Jiashan station. Workers wave national flags and hail the train, which began recently operation, on Sep. 30. (Source: Zjol.com.cn)

Yang Liying, a villager of Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province, measures the speed of the train. (Source: Zjol.com.cn)

A lucky man buys the first ticket for the high-speed train in Hangzhou station. "I'm a lucky dog" said Mr. Shen. (Source: Zjol.com.cn)

The first train on the newly-opened high-speed railway from Hangzhou to Shanghai runs through Jiashan in eastern China's Zhejiang Province at 9:14 a.m. on Oct. 26. (Source: Zjol.com.cn)

 

[greenlion]

China's High-Speed Rail - Photo Essays - TIME

China's high speed rail

Beijing puts all its muscle into building a massive, state-of-the-art high-speed railroad network

Photographs for TIME by Michael Christopher Brown

Read more: China's High-Speed Rail - Photo Essays - TIME

Engine of Growth
In the past three decades, China has more than doubled the mileage of new track in its railroad system. In the coming year, it will spend $120 billion on the construction of new lines, many of which will handle high-speed rail.

Terminal
The system offers a vast improvement over the aging, traditional rail network, which was known for being ****** and overcrowded.

Need for Speed (picture CRH2C)
Railroad authorities have focused intently on upgrading the system's speed. In July 2010, the fastest train (CRH380A) to date — it can travel as fast as 220 m.p.h. (355 km/h) — went into service, linking Shanghai to Suzhou and Nanjing. By comparison, Japan's fastest train reaches speeds of just 160 m.p.h. (260 km/h), while the Acela, America's fastest rail link, averages an anemic 72 m.p.h. (116 km/h).

Vast Land
Critics of the system complain that high-speed rail poorly serves the country. They say that most Chinese, especially the vast rural population, travel infrequently and are perfectly content to pay less for slower service.

Market
Still, the Chinese middle class is growing rapidly, and the service has created a new class of intercity commuters. In this photo, passengers wait to board high-speed trains leaving the railway station in Suzhou, pop. almost 6 million.

Tickets
Passengers buy tickets for high-speed trains leaving Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. The machines have instructions in both Chinese and English.

 

[greenlion]

On Board
A train operator and two train officials sit in front of the first-class cabin, en route to Suzhou.

Well-Traveled
The Shanghai-Nanjing route is one of the busiest railway corridors on earth.

Reflected
The new trains have reduced the travel time between Shanghai and Nanjing from two hours to 73 minutes, with nonstop service.

Work in Progress
Fewer than half of the railway lines entering the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station are currently in operation.

Memories
Travelers photograph themselves in front of the new train (CRH3C).

Window on the Future
Chinese officials say the current high-speed rail network is only the beginning. The domestic system will continue to expand, while Chinese firms will participate in constructing rail projects in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Turkey. There are also reports that Beijing wants to build a high-speed link between China and Europe.

 

[no_name]

Trillion dollar business potentials. However requires a relatively stable world political atmosphere.

 

[no_name]

On second thought this could be an example of turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

China's disadvantage is that there are alot of clutter around her oceans whereas US has two clear coasts. However volume of trade may be bigger through rail than through shippings. If rail connections is indeed made with europe in the future then overtime we may see a increasing gap in trade frequency between china-europe compared to europe-US or china-US and also it will drive costs down. In short it will be harder for US to keep up and remain competitive. In this case the oceans which have been to the US's advantage for so long may become a disadvantage.

 

[Brotherhood]

Beijing's first maglev line expected to operate in 2012 - People's Daily Online November 03, 2010

Beijing's first city low-speed maglev line S1 will begin construction on Dec. 18 this year and is expected to start test runs in 2012, according to a conference held by Beijing's Mentougou District Tuesday.

It is said that the S1 line will start from Pingguoyuan and ends at Chichang, with a length of about 10 kilometers.

The S1 line construction work involves the demolition of 11 villages in Beijing's Yongding area, including 6,428 families with 13,117 people, and the demolition area will cover 835,000 square meters. The government and local residents have reached a compensation agreement, which will allow public to review it after it is signed.

By Zhao Chenyan, People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

China's longest subway to open in Beijing by year-end - People's Daily Online November 04, 2010

China's longest subway, stretching 50 kilometers running southwest to northwest of Beijing, will begin its trial run by the end of 2010, sources with the subway company said Wednesday.

The new Line 4 will be extended 22.5 kilometers further south from the current Line 4 that ends at the South Fourth Ring Road and eleven passenger stations will be added.

The construction of the extension line has already been completed and engineers will conduct an important operational test next Monday, said officials with the Beijing MTR Corporation Limited.

The current Line 4, launched last year, is 28.2 kilometers long and has 24 stations.

Local transportation officials say the extended Line 4 will significantly ease the heavy strain on roads in the southern part of the city.

Beijing's peripheral villages and towns are undergoing rapid urbanization. Meanwhile, a growing numbers of wage-earners who choose to live in less expensive homes far from the city center have created a huge demand for fast intra-city transit.

Beijing is among the most congested cities in the world, with over 4 million private cars on the roads. However, authorities are rushing to build more subways to ease the traffic.

Beijing has prolonged transport regulations enacted during the 2008 Olympic Games to restrict road traffic by the last number of car license plates. However, any relief has been overshadowed by the fast increase of vehicles on road.

Five new subway lines, including the extension of Line 4, will open in 2010. Beijing plans to extend subways to reach 561 kilometers by 2015.

Source:Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

China's 1st inter-city light rail line operated in Guangzhou - People's Daily Online Nov 3 2010

On Nov. 3, China's first inter-city light rail line, from Guangzhou, the capital city of south China’s Guangdong Province, to Foshan with designed speed of
80 kilometers per hour, was officially put into operation.(Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua)

On Nov. 3, rail line staff guides passengers to access to the exit at the Xilang Station of the newly-built inter-city light rail line from Guangzhou to Foshan.
(Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua)

On Nov. 3, a light rail train arrives at the Xilang Station of China's first inter-city light rail line from Guangzhou to Foshan.
(Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua)

On Nov. 3, passengers on the train of the newly-built China's inter-city light rail line from Guangzhou to Foshan.
(Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua)

On Nov. 3, passengers transfer to the Guangzhou Metro Line 1 at the Xilang Station of China's first inter-city light rail line from Guangzhou to Foshan.
(Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua)

On Nov.3, passengers wait in lines for the train at the Tongji Avenue Station of the newly-built inter-city light rail line from Guangzhou to Foshan.
(Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua)

 

[Brotherhood]

China's 1st underground inter-city light rail line put in use - People's Daily Online

Passengers wait on the platform at Xilang station, the terminal of Guangzhou-Foshan metro line in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 3, 2010. Guangzhou-Foshan line, the light rail linking Guangzhou and Foshan, was officially put in use on Wednesday. The 21-kilometers line is China's first underground inter-city light rail line, offering passengers a seamless joint between the two cities. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

Passengers board in a carriage on Guangzhou-Foshan metro line in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 3, 2010. Guangzhou-Foshan line, the light rail linking Guangzhou and Foshan, was officially put in use on Wednesday. The 21-kilometers line is China's first underground inter-city light rail line, offering passengers a seamless joint between the two cities. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

Passengers board in a carriage on Guangzhou-Foshan metro line in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 3, 2010. Guangzhou-Foshan line, the light rail linking Guangzhou and Foshan, was officially put in use on Wednesday. The 21-kilometers line is China's first underground inter-city light rail line, offering passengers a seamless joint between the two cities. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

A staff guides passengers at Xilang station, the terminal of Guangzhou-Foshan metro line in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 3, 2010. Guangzhou-Foshan line, the light rail linking Guangzhou and Foshan, was officially put in use on Wednesday. The 21-kilometers line is China's first underground inter-city light rail line, offering passengers a seamless joint between the two cities. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)