From the UK Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... rials.html
A new 200mph high-speed rail line that will link China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai, in just five hours will begin its final trials today, according to Chinese railway ministry officials in Beijing.
The 820-mile fast-line connecting China's political and commercial capitals is scheduled to open by the end of June and is the latest example of China's astonishing drive to modernise and expand its railway infrastructure.
In a testament to China's ability to drive through infrastructure projects, the Beijing-Shanghai line will have been completed in just three years.
Ticket prices have yet to be announced, but estimates based on fare prices for similar high-speed lines suggest the standard class journey could cost between £50 and £100 one-way, or slightly cheaper than the average air fare.
China already boasts the world's largest high-speed rail network with 5,193 miles of high-speed track laid by the end of 2010. However that total will reach 8,123 miles by the end of this year and should exceed 9,940 miles by 2015, according to rail ministry figures.
Britain is currently in the consultation phase for its High Speed 2 rail project, a two-pronged track that will link London to Leeds and Manchester via the West Midlands at a cost of £32bn. If approved, the project is expected to take 20 years to compete.
Diplomatic sources also say that China - which has already signed railway co-operation agreements with 30 countries, including the US, Russia, Poland and India - is showing 'great interest' in investing in UK railways and infrastructure.
However China's hyper-rapid rail expansion, while still the envy of much of the world, has not been without its recent problems.
With investment levels running at almost £70bn a year, there have been allegations of widespread corruption, leading to the sacking and detention last February of the railways minister Liu Zhijun on suspicion of taking payouts in exchange for awarding contracts.
Questions have also been raised about the long-term solvency of China's railways ministry which showed a £350m pre-tax loss for the first quarter of 2010 and has run up mountainous debts of almost £200bn – equivalent of 58 per cent of its total assets - a figure some analysts warn is dangerously high.
The safety of the rapidly laid tracks was also questioned after the ministry announced it was reducing speeds of trains from 220mph to 185mph earlier this month, although officials said the reduction was aimed at cutting running costs and offering the public cheaper fares.
Some economists have also warned that China's rail-building spree is creating unwanted levels of excess capacity, which is being duplicated by the expansion of gleaming new provincial airports which are mushrooming across China.
Others disagree, arguing that the extra capacity will be soaked up in future years by China's development and that China's rail and road investment is by many measures equivalent to that of the United States at a similar period of economic development.
However despite the recent difficulties, much of China's public are happy to embrace the new railways as a symbol of the nation's rapid economic development, with railway staff reporting they had been inundated with enquiries of how to buy tickets on the inaugural service.
Also from the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... facts.html
Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway: key facts
A new 200mph high-speed rail line that will link China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai, in just five hours is now in the final phase of testing. Here are some key facts about the project:
Speed
The Beijing-Shanghai high speed train will run at speeds between 155mph - 185mph and provide three services: "non-stop" (which actually will stop in the old imperial capital of Nanjing), a medium-fast service stopping in provincial capitals and a "full service" stopping in 24 stations along the line.
Price
Officially ticket prices have not been announced. However based on the fare prices of the existing 665-mile Wuhan-Guangzhou high speed railway, the standard-class fares on the 820-mile Beijing to Shanghai line will range from £50 to £100, depending on the speed of service booked.
Competition from the air
Previous experience shows that airlines will suffer. After the Wuhan-Guangzhou line opened in December 2009 nearly two-thirds of flights within a 370-mile radius of Wuhan were cancelled. As with the Beijing-Shanghai line, the running time was almost double the flight time, but passengers preferred to avoid the stress of airport check-in and security. Currently there are 30-40 flights a day between Beijing and Shanghai, costing £80-£130 one way.
Which will be faster, train or plane?
High speed train: less than five hours for nonstop train, using the fast 185mph service which is nearly half the current train journey of 9hrs and 49m. The high speed train's terminal station is at the more centrally located in Hongqiao station.
Flight: 2hrs and 10m, but allowing for check-in, security clearances and the now-inevitable air-traffic control delays, the flight can take up to 3 hrs 30 mins, not including the journey to and from the airport. Most flights also land at Shanghai's Pudong airport which is further away from the centre of the city.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... rials.html
A new 200mph high-speed rail line that will link China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai, in just five hours will begin its final trials today, according to Chinese railway ministry officials in Beijing.
The 820-mile fast-line connecting China's political and commercial capitals is scheduled to open by the end of June and is the latest example of China's astonishing drive to modernise and expand its railway infrastructure.
In a testament to China's ability to drive through infrastructure projects, the Beijing-Shanghai line will have been completed in just three years.
Ticket prices have yet to be announced, but estimates based on fare prices for similar high-speed lines suggest the standard class journey could cost between £50 and £100 one-way, or slightly cheaper than the average air fare.
China already boasts the world's largest high-speed rail network with 5,193 miles of high-speed track laid by the end of 2010. However that total will reach 8,123 miles by the end of this year and should exceed 9,940 miles by 2015, according to rail ministry figures.
Britain is currently in the consultation phase for its High Speed 2 rail project, a two-pronged track that will link London to Leeds and Manchester via the West Midlands at a cost of £32bn. If approved, the project is expected to take 20 years to compete.
Diplomatic sources also say that China - which has already signed railway co-operation agreements with 30 countries, including the US, Russia, Poland and India - is showing 'great interest' in investing in UK railways and infrastructure.
However China's hyper-rapid rail expansion, while still the envy of much of the world, has not been without its recent problems.
With investment levels running at almost £70bn a year, there have been allegations of widespread corruption, leading to the sacking and detention last February of the railways minister Liu Zhijun on suspicion of taking payouts in exchange for awarding contracts.
Questions have also been raised about the long-term solvency of China's railways ministry which showed a £350m pre-tax loss for the first quarter of 2010 and has run up mountainous debts of almost £200bn – equivalent of 58 per cent of its total assets - a figure some analysts warn is dangerously high.
The safety of the rapidly laid tracks was also questioned after the ministry announced it was reducing speeds of trains from 220mph to 185mph earlier this month, although officials said the reduction was aimed at cutting running costs and offering the public cheaper fares.
Some economists have also warned that China's rail-building spree is creating unwanted levels of excess capacity, which is being duplicated by the expansion of gleaming new provincial airports which are mushrooming across China.
Others disagree, arguing that the extra capacity will be soaked up in future years by China's development and that China's rail and road investment is by many measures equivalent to that of the United States at a similar period of economic development.
However despite the recent difficulties, much of China's public are happy to embrace the new railways as a symbol of the nation's rapid economic development, with railway staff reporting they had been inundated with enquiries of how to buy tickets on the inaugural service.
Also from the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... facts.html
Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway: key facts
A new 200mph high-speed rail line that will link China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai, in just five hours is now in the final phase of testing. Here are some key facts about the project:
Speed
The Beijing-Shanghai high speed train will run at speeds between 155mph - 185mph and provide three services: "non-stop" (which actually will stop in the old imperial capital of Nanjing), a medium-fast service stopping in provincial capitals and a "full service" stopping in 24 stations along the line.
Price
Officially ticket prices have not been announced. However based on the fare prices of the existing 665-mile Wuhan-Guangzhou high speed railway, the standard-class fares on the 820-mile Beijing to Shanghai line will range from £50 to £100, depending on the speed of service booked.
Competition from the air
Previous experience shows that airlines will suffer. After the Wuhan-Guangzhou line opened in December 2009 nearly two-thirds of flights within a 370-mile radius of Wuhan were cancelled. As with the Beijing-Shanghai line, the running time was almost double the flight time, but passengers preferred to avoid the stress of airport check-in and security. Currently there are 30-40 flights a day between Beijing and Shanghai, costing £80-£130 one way.
Which will be faster, train or plane?
High speed train: less than five hours for nonstop train, using the fast 185mph service which is nearly half the current train journey of 9hrs and 49m. The high speed train's terminal station is at the more centrally located in Hongqiao station.
Flight: 2hrs and 10m, but allowing for check-in, security clearances and the now-inevitable air-traffic control delays, the flight can take up to 3 hrs 30 mins, not including the journey to and from the airport. Most flights also land at Shanghai's Pudong airport which is further away from the centre of the city.
