China debuts 620 kph train prototype to reduce travel time
China debuts 620 kph train prototype to reduce travel time
Chinese authorities are planning to make the country’s first high-speed rail link among the world’s fastest to reduce travel times and greenhouse emissions.
The state-run China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) says it has built an experimental “high-speed service line” between the east-coast city of Nanjing and the city of Wuhan, in central Hubei province.
The test track, costing a “mere five cents”, could take passengers to a potential first high-speed link between China and Europe or North America, said the CRCC.
“It’s just as important as developing a high-speed railway in Europe or America,” said the corporation’s railway manager Zhang Huijin.
The train, on the same route as a regular rail service from Paris to Beijing, will have two speeds, at around 150 kph and 620 kph.
It will be more efficient than the “old-style train” used on that route, increasing the speed to as much as 250 kph, said the corporation.
The system, developed as a trial, will use two trains, carrying 300 and 500 passengers respectively, to help evaluate the impact of speed and capacity on passengers’ experience.
The trial, which began in December, is the first major step in the construction of a system capable of carrying more than 10 million passengers a day.
High-speed rail links also reduce travel time and greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the impact on the environment.
In China, the cost of building a high-speed line between east coast cities is estimated to be about $10bn (£6bn) while a conventional train takes about three hours to travel the 200 kilometres.
The trial is being conducted within the framework of China’s plan to improve its transport infrastructure and make the country’s cities “city-to-city” by 2030.
“This project will be the first step in building the high-speed railway system for cities,” said Zhang Liqin, deputy department head of economics at the China Railway Construction Corporation.
“Some of the important questions are the safety of the train, the comfort of passengers and the environmental impact,” he
