What's new

Xiamen-Shenzhen、Xi'an-Baoji、Liuzhou-Nanning、Chongqing-Lichuan and more HSRs Open Today

China's high-speed rail on fast track

Updated: 2013-12-28 23:13

(Xinhua)


SHENZHEN - Several new high-speed railway links in China are expected to start operations by the end of 2013, extending the network to over 12,000 kilometers, more than half of the world total.

"We are looking forward to the new line," said Xie Fugui, a businessman in the southern city of Guangzhou. "Most of my suppliers are from Chaozhou, and it takes me at least six hours to go there by coach, but the new railway will cut my travel time by half."

Xie was talking about the Xiamen-Shenzhen line between the port of Xiamen in east China's Fujian Province, and Shenzhen, China's first Special Economic Zone. Travel time between the two cities shortened from 13 hours to four hours as it opened on Saturday.

The 513 km line extends east to Shanghai and westward to Guangzhou, significant business hubs.

It is the last link in the chain between the most dynamic cities and manufacturing centers in east and south China, with a population over 700 million, and almost as large as Europe.

"We can now invite foreign buyers to visit our plants in Chaozhou. Many of them are interested in such visits, but few were willing to waste so much time," Xie said.

Thanks to the new line, Xie can visit his parents in Fujian more often, as the trip is now much easier and cheaper. Tickets for a second-class seat from Shenzhen to Xiamen, further than the distance between New York and Montreal, costs only 150 yuan (25 U.S. dollars).

Others pin hopes on the capital and intellectual flows which the new railway will bring, essential to the development of millions of small and medium enterprises(SMEs) along the southeast coast.

"Convenient transport will stimulate SMEs, and strengthen the links between the economic engines," said Long Guanghui, director of DTZ Shenzhen.

The "engines" Long refers to are the Yangtze Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Western Taiwan Strait Economic Zone, which are connected by several high-speed rail links now, and may turn into a world-class urban belt on a par with the northeast coast of the United States, or the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, according to Chen Hongyu, counselor of Guangdong provincial government.

Other new high-speed rail lines which began services on Saturday include one in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, starting point of the ancient Silk Road, and another in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the bridgehead of China-ASEAN cooperation.

Along with the development of domestic high-speed rail, the government and rail enterprises are actively seeking overseas customers.

Stepping out of shadow

The first Chinese "Harmony" high-speed train pulled out of the station in April 2007. Six years and five months later, the world's second largest economy has built the world's biggest high-speed rail network. It was a short time and full of ups and downs.

Huge shadow was cast in 2011 when a crash claimed 40 lives in east China. Since then, a series of corruption scandals have brought about the arrest of the former railways minister, Liu Zhijun, on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

"About 95 percent of construction projects were suspended after the incidents," said Deng Hanquan, a construction supervisor on the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway, initially planned for completion in 2011. Many people both at home and abroad questioned the whole strategy of high-speed rail.

"The former railways ministry was a mixture of administrative and commercial operations and a monopoly. It was a hotbed of corruption," said Xiao Jun, a professor at Shenzhen University. "Besides investigating the accident and scandals, the government has taken action to solve institutional problems."

The ministry was split into administrative and business arms in March.Responsibilities for planning and policy were taken over by the state railways administration under the Transport Ministry, while the China Railway Corporation (CRC) was established to deal with commercial concerns. Liu Zhijun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in July.

The cabinet issued a new document in August to "reform the investment and financing system of railways and to accelerate railway construction." The CRC then revised the annual construction plan. The number of new projects for 2013 increased from 38 to 47, and all blueprints had to be complete by the end of October.

"Construction gradually resumed and now we are back in the fast lane," Deng Hanquan said.

Xiao Jun believes that what happened in the high-speed rail sector proves that fighting corruption will not hamper economic development.

"On the contrary, it is the zero-tolerance of corruption and the improvement of systems that restored public confidence in the industry," Xiao added.

He stressed that the world's largest constructor and operator of high-speed rail must continuously eliminate institutional flaws, carry on the separation of government and enterprise, and enforce supervision of investment in the public sector.

Problems remain

Problems such as a high debt-to-asset ratio and the monopoly are still challenging.

The CRC's debt-to-asset ratio had climbed to 63 percent by the end of the third quarter of 2013. Its total assets were 4.84 trillion yuan (800 billion U.S. dollars), and its debts amounted to 3.06 trillion yuan.

These hefty debts are part and parcel of the high-speed boom.

China's rail construction are mainly government funded. The former ministry once introduced policies to encourage civil investment, and promised to protect investors' interests, but market insiders are calling for more specific rules.

"Some projects have spent years in financing but still can not get off the ground," Deng Hanquan told Xinhua. "The government encourages private businesses to lay money in the rail sector. But the industry has high demand on capital. Few companies are capable of providing so much money and it is hard for them to cover costs."

Wang Mengshu, a railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, suggested that the government should declare a clear scheme of profit distribution to attract private capital.

Experts also criticize the closed operation and incomplete marketization of high-speed rail, urging the CRC to launch further reform and be subject to public supervision.

China's high-speed rail on fast track|Society|chinadaily.com.cn
 
Planned for openings in 2014 include the Lanzhou-Urumqi HSR、Datong-Xi'an HSR、Guiyang-Guangzhou HSR、Nanning-Guangzhou HSR、Hangzhou-Changsha HSR、Hangzhou-Huangshan HSR、and Leshan-Mianyang HSR etc,totaling over 4000km。

In addition,the completions of Changsha-Guiyang HSR and Hefei-Fuzhou HSRs may also be brought forward in time for formal operations in 2014.
 
Xiamen-Shenzhen


133003253_71n.jpg

133003253_41n.jpg

133003253_11n.jpg

133003253_21n.jpg
 
28.12.2013 must be an auspicious date for the Chinese,for the Wuhan-Xianning Intercity Express Rail also opened on the day:

11860129442986147658.jpg


:D

Three similar intercity express rails linking Wuhan with neighbouring cities Xiaogan、Huangshi and Huanggang are set for completion in 2014 and 2015,respectively.
 
Last edited:
credit:big-dog

12/27 Guangtong-Kunming double line opens

This is part of Pan Asian Railway, 106.3km long. Design speed 160 kmph (reserved capacity to upgrade to 200 kmph).

Project started in October 2007 this is a difficult rail to build. Xiuning Railway Tunnel, 13.187km, is one of the critical sub-project on the route.



12/28 Fuyang-Lu'an Rail opened

Location: Anhui Province
Length: 167.8km
Stations: 13
Speed: 160 km/h
Construction: 4 years

12/30 Suzhou-Huai'an Rail opened


Location: Jiangsu Province
Length: 210.421km
Stations: 13
Bridges (large/medium): 104 (17% of total length)
Construction: 4.5 years

12/31 Haiqing Rail opened

Location: Haitian-Pingdu-Qingdao-Gaomi, Shandong Province
Length: 91.7km
Grade I
Cost: 3.3 bln yuan
Design speed: 160 km/h
 
2013 Metro line/extension/system opening summary:

May 5
Chongqing Line 6 - Lijia extension (12.1km)

May 15
Beijing Line 10 - southwestern extension (2.1km)
Beijing Line 14 - new line (12.4km)

May 20
Kunming Line 1 - new line (22.1km)

June 8
Chengdu Line 2 - northern extension (8.7km)

August 28
Tianjin Line 2 - reconnecting western & eastern section

August 31
Shanghai Line 11 - southern extension (19.2km)

September 15
Xi'an Line 1 - new line (25.4km)

September 26
Harbin Line 1 - new system & line (17.47km)

October 16
Shanghai Line 11 - Kunshan extension (7km)

December 28
Beijing Line 8 - northern & southern extensions (9.6km)
Guangzhou Line 6 - new line (24.3km)
Suzhou Line 2 - new line (26.55km)
Tianjin Line 3 - extension to South Station (4.1km)
Wuhan Line 4 - new line (16.48km)
Zhengzhou Line 1 - new system & line (26.34km)

December 29
Shanghai Line 12 - new line (13.14km)
Shanghai Line 16 - new line (51.8km)

December 30
Shenyang Line 2 - north extension (5.5km)
Dalian Line 8 - new line (40.38km)

December 31
Chongqing Line 6 - northern extension (25.6km)


Total length - ~370.26km
 
China's HSR Network 2014

HSR2014_1.jpg~original


  • Red lines: 300+ km/h
  • Blue lines: 200+ km/h
  • Dotted lines: to be opened in 2014
 
Mainland China's HSR as at the end of 2013 and new openings in 2014 and 2015:

5DF25F00901A987976EE60C551B5.jpg~original


37 lines operational at end of 2013:11152km

672A676553D15C55524D666F.jpg~original

12 new openings in 2014:5353km
12 new openings in 2015:3534km

Total HSR operational at end of 2015: 20039km
 
Last edited:
Current Metro Stats of China(excluding Taiwan)

300km+
(01) Shanghai (15 lines) ~567km
(02) Beijing (17 lines) ~466km

200-299km
(03) Guangzhou (9 lines) ~260km

100-199km
(04) Shenzhen (5 lines) ~178km
(05) Hong Kong (10 lines) ~175km
(06) Chongqing (4 lines) ~168km
(07) Tianjin (4 lines) ~135km
(08) Dalian (3 lines) ~103km

50-99km
(09) Nanjing (2 lines) ~87km
(10) Wuhan (3 lines) ~74km
(11) Kunming (2 lines) ~64km
(12) Shenyang (2 lines) ~56km
(13) Suzhou (2 lines) ~53km
(14) Changchun (2 lines) ~51km

1-49km
(15) Chengdu (2 lines) ~49km
(16) Hangzhou (1 line) ~48km
(17) Xi'an (2 lines) ~45km
(18) Zhengzhou (1 line) ~26km
(19) Harbin (1 line) ~17.5km

Under Construction or Approved
(20) Changsha
(21) Changzhou
(22) Dongguan
(23) Fuzhou
(24) Guiyang
(25) Hefei
(26) Lanzhou
(27) Macau
(28) Nanchang
(29) Nanning
(30) Ningbo
(31) Ordos
(32) Qingdao
(33) Shijiazhuang
(34) Taiyuan
(35) Ürümqi
(36) Wenzhou
(37) Wuxi
(38) Xiamen
(39) Xining
(40) Xuzhou

Even cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have only 1/2 - 2/3 of their metro network done。The others have a long long way to go。
 
China to invest $100 billion in new rail lines this year

BEIJING Thu Jan 9, 2014 7:19am EST

r

A worker walks in the foundation of a new railway line in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, May 21, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/China Daily

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will spend over $100 billion on more than 6,600 km (4,100 miles) of new railway lines this year, Xinhua news agency said, citing a senior industry official.

The general manager of the state-owned China Railway Corporation (CRC), Sheng Guangxu, was quoted as saying that the bulk of the 630 billion yuan ($104.11 billion) investment would be in the underdeveloped central and western regions.

It said CRC had already put 5,586 km of rail lines into operation since its formation last March following the dissolution of the Ministry of Railways.

China abolished the ministry in March and transferred its regulatory duties to the Ministry of Transportation.

The sector was plagued with allegations of waste and corruption that culminated in the sentencing of former minister Liu Zhijun in July on charges of bribery and abuse of power.

CRC has already started construction on 49 new railway projects involving 663.8 billion yuan of investment.

China had more than 100,000 km of railway in operation by the end of 2013, 10 percent of which was for high speed trains, Xinhua said. ($1 = 6 yuan)

China to invest $100 billion in new rail lines this year| Reuters
 
Congratulations China , India has so much to learn in Infra management from China .
 

Pakistan Affairs Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom