High-speed rail in China

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Current High-speed lines in Greater China.     MaglevConventional High-speed railways:     300-350 km/h      200–250 km/h (New lines)      200–250 km/h (Upgraded lines)      Other non-highspeed railways

The People's Republic of China introduced 430 km/h maglev train service in March 2004 and regular high-speed train services in April 2007. The maximum speed limit for regular train in China is 350km/h in Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail by 2008.

In 2009, China announced plans to build 35 high-speed routes by 2012. Around 13,000 km of high-speed railways, capable of handling trains at between 200 and 350 km/hour would be completed and put into service by 2012. China’s railways were among the main beneficiaries of the government's 4-trillion-yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package.

At least five routes are to accommodate trains traveling at speeds of 350 km/h (220 mph). So far, China has built 185 km of track capable of handling 350 km/h trains, including the link between Beijing and Tianjin, which opened shortly before the 2008 Olympic Games. The five lines include three north-south routes: Beijing-Shanghai; Beijing-Hong Kong ; and Beijing-Harbin (via Shenyang and Changchun). The two east-west high-speed lines are Xuzhou-Lanzhou and Shanghai-Kunming. The five lines along with three other lines with a designed speed of between 200 and 350 km/h, will become the trunk lines of China's future high-speed passenger rail network.

[edit] Non-Maglev High-speed Railways

China's high-speed rail system project is ambitious^[1] and when the major rail lines are completed by 2020, it will become the largest, fastest, and most technologically advanced high-speed railway system on the planet.^[2] The Chinese Ministry of Railways plans to construct 25,000 km (16,000 miles) of high-speed railways with trains reaching speeds of 350 km/h (217 mph).^[3][2] China will invest $50 billion on its high-speed rail system in 2009 and the total construction cost of the high-speed rail system is $300 billion.^[2] This construction project is creating thousands of jobs, just on the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway 110,000 construction jobs were created according to the Ministry of Railways.^[2] The main operator of regular high-speed train services in the People's Republic of China is China Railway High-Speed (CRH).

[edit] China High-speed Railway Definitions

According to UIC's standard, China's high-speed railway includes 4 parts:

• Passenger Dedicated Line (PDL), synonymous with High-Speed Rail. A PDL is a high speed rail route, which permits speeds of more than 200 km/h, between the capital of provinces and municipalities. However, the name is misleading in that some lines are not passenger only. For some political reasons, people call it PDL to replace High-speed Rail. According to the "Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network Plan" (adjusted in 2008) introduced by the Ministry of Railways of PRC, as a whole PDL net in 2020, four east-west lines and four south-north lines, total 16,000 km project is on the plan which is the biggest network of High-speed rail in the world. There are two levels of PDL in China:
  • 200~250 km/h, in some cases, this level is not PDL only, it is fort level is used in the important corridors where no railway exists. Further more, in the long-term plan, once new freight dedicated lines are built in the future, there PDLs are able to update to the maximum speed 300 km/h.
  • 300~350 km/h, this is the top high-speed railway in the world. No freight cars can run on this level PDL.
• Intercity Transport System (Intercity railway), refers to the high speed railways built in metropolitan area, especially in the Pearl River Delta area, Yangtze River Delta area and Bohai Economic Rim. All these intercity railways have a shorter distance under 500 km. The maximum speed is at least 200~250 km/h, and some lines can reach 350 km/h.
• Updated conventional railways, in fact the Ministry of Railways has carried out projects for upgrading several existing railways for over ten years. For example, a single track is expanded to double track, and building up electrification system. Several main lines of conventional tracks are already updated to the maximum speed 200 km/h. By the end of 2007, at least 6000 km of conventional tracks are capable to the maximum speed 200 km/h, and there are 846 km of tracks can reach 250 km/h.
• New lines for improving railway network and western development, these railways are mainly for both passengers and freight with standard 200~250 km/h, which are not included in the PDL network or Intercity Transport System plan.

[edit] Development Plan

[edit] Passenger Dedicated Line Network

Ministry of Railways of PRC has divided the PDL network in China into 8 main lines, with a total length of over 12,000 km. All of the following are currently being prepared for high speed rail services with a MOR of 200 km/h or above. Most of the lines will open with a MOR of 200 km/h, limited by the trainsets and national law, and over time the permitted speeds will be increased up to the maximum allowed for by the track design.

In addition, Jinqin Passenger Railway (Tianjin-Qinhuangdao) and Qinshen Passenger Railway (Qinhuangdao-Shenyang) are not the component parts of 8 main lines, but these two lines are still included in the PDL network because they are important in linking Beijing-Harbin Line and Beijing-Shanghai Line.

Four north-south lines: (PDL)

Lines	Info	Map
Jingha PDL (Beijing-Harbin)	via Chengde, Fuxin, Shenyang, Changchun. Branch: Shenyang-Dalian. It is composed of 2 parts: Jingshen Passenger Railway (Beijing-Shenyang) and Hada Passenger Railway (Harbin-Shenyang). The line is designed for MOR of 350 km/h.
Jinghu PDL (Beijing-Shanghai)	Also known as Jinghu High-Speed Railway, via Tianjin, Jinan, Xuzhou, Bengbu, Nanjing. Branch: Bengbu-Hefei. MOR of 350 km/h.
Jinggang PDL (Beijing-Hong Kong)	via Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, infrastructure designed for future operations at 350 km/h in the Beijing-Shenzhen section, i.e. mainland section, (and 200 km/h in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong section).[4] It is composed of 4 parts: Jingshi Passenger Railway (Beijing-Shijiazhuang), Shiwu Passenger Railway (Shijiazhuang-Wuhan), Wuguang Passenger Railway (Wuhan-Guangzhou) and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Guangzhou-Shenzhen section).
Southeast Coastal PDL (Shanghai-Shenzhen)	via Hangzhou, Ningbo, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen; Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo part is designed for MOR of 350 km/h, rest is designed for MOR of 200~250 km/h for both passengers and freight. It is composed of 5 parts: Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Passenger Railway, Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou Railway, Wenfu Railway (Wenzhou-Fuzhou), Fuxia Railway (Fuzhou-Xiamen) and Xiashen Railway (Xiamen-Shenzhen).

Four east-west lines (PDL)

Lines	Info	Map
Qingtai PDL (Qingdao-Taiyuan)	via Jinan, Shijiazhuang. The line is designed for MOR of 200~250 km/h for passengers. It is composed of 3 parts: Shitai Passenger Railway (Taiyuan-Shijiazhuang), Shiji Passenger Railway (Shijiazhuang-Dezhou-Jinan) and Jiaoji Passenger Railway (Jinan-Qingdao).
Xulan PDL (Xuzhou-Lanzhou)	via Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Baoji, designed for MOR of 350 km/h. It is composed of 4 parts: Zhengxu Passenger Railway (Xuzhou-Zhengzhou), Zhengxi Passenger Railway (Zhengzhou-Xi'an), Xibao Passenger Railway (Xi'an-Baoji) and Baolan Passenger Railway (Baoji-Lanzhou).
Huhanrong PDL (Shanghai-Chengdu)	via Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, Chongqing; Shanghai-Nanjing is section is part of Beijing-Shanghai line with MOR 350 km/h tracks, Nanjing-Chengdu line is designed for MOR 200~250 km/h for both passengers and freight; Chongqing-Chengdu section is designed for MOR 250 km/h in short term, but 350 km/h in long term when Chengyu Passenger Railway is ready. The line is composed of 8 parts (in short term): Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway (Shanghai-Nanjing section), Hening Passenger Railway (Nanjing-Hefei), Hewu Passenger Railway (Hefei-Wuhan), Hanyi Railway (Wuhan-Yichang), Yiwan Railway (Yichang-Lichuan section), Yuli Passenger Railway (Lichuan-Chongqing), Suiyu Railway (Chongqing-Suining) and Dacheng Railway (Suining-Chengdu section).
Hukun PDL (Shanghai-Kunming)	via Hangzhou, Nanchang, Changsha, Guiyang, designed for MOR of 350 km/h. It is composed of 2 parts: Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Passenger Railway (Shanghai-Hangzhou section, using the same tracks with Shanghai-Shenzhen Line), Hangchang Passenger Railway (Hangzhou-Changsha) and Changkun Passenger Railway (Changsha-Kunming).

Construction Schedule

Most of this mega network are still under construction or in plan.^[4] The construction schedule for lines (not necessarily operation) is as follows:

Green background for the lines that has been opened.

Once tracks and lines are ready, testing phase begins, and need to be completed before commercial operation at which maximum operating speeds will be limited by the combination of national law, EMU design, and track design.

[edit] Intercity Transport System

Intercity Transport System in Greater China.

Intercity railways are express services in a particular metropolitan area, with the maximum speed (MOR) of 200~250 km/h, or 350 km/h. Intercity Lines must be for passenger only.

Construction Schedule

Green background is for the lines that have been opened.

[edit] New lines for improving railway network and western development

According to the "Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network Plan" (adjusted in 2008), the Chinese Ministry of Railways plans to build over 40,000 km of railway in order to expand the railway network in the western part of China, and strengthen the network in the eastern and central parts of China. Within this plan, there are several such railways being built to a standard of 200~250 km/h for both passengers and freight, which are newly planned outside the PDL network or Intercity Transport System.

Construction Schedule

PDL standard line

Lines	Info	Map
Chengdu-Guangzhou	via Guiyang, Guilin. It is composed of 2 parts: Chenggui Passenger Railway (Chengdu-Guiyang) and Guiguang Passenger Railway (Guiyang-Guangzhou). The line is designed for MOR of 350 km/h.

Planning

• Guangzhou-Zhanjiang

[edit] Upgraded conventional railways

4th line of Guangshen Railway in construction (February, 2007)

China has increased the allowed top speed for trains six times: in April 1997, October 1998, October 2000, November 2001, April 2004, and April 2007. The sixth national speed-up in April 18th, 2007 made it possible to use 6003km of tracks at speeds up to 200km/h. On 848 km tracks the top speeds may reach 250 km/h, most (560 km) of which are on the newly built Qinshen Passenger Railway. This speedup is mainly achieved by updating the current conventional railways and operation of the newly built CRH series trains. By the end of 2007, 514 CRH trains would be in operation. ^[17] . In addition, speeds have also been raised on 8,000km of the existing network to 160km/h and a further 8,000 km have been upgraded to allow 120km/h operation. This means that speeds have been increased on 22,000km, or 29%, of the national rail network, and the average speed of a passenger train is now 70km/h. Often high speed lines are shared with heavy freight, with as little as 5 minutes headway.^[18] During the sixth railway speedup, 280 CRH trains (CRH1, CRH2 and CRH5) are put into service.

The new train schedule sliced 2 hours off travel times between Beijing and Shanghai with a journey time of just under 10 hours for the 1,463km trip. Journey times on the 1,199km Shanghai - Changsha (the capital of Hunan province) line have fallen by 90 min to 7h 30min, while Shanghai - Nanchang (the capital of Jiangxi province) journey times are halved. In addition to these new high-speed trains, China plans to introduce seven more non-stop intercity services, increasing the number of non-stop express trains to 26. A new non-stop express train between Beijing and Fuzhou, Fujian Province has reduced travel times from 33h 29min to less than 20 hours.^[18]

A. Capable of 200 km/h

• Jiaoji Railway
• Hukun Railway (Partial sections between Hangzhou-Zhuzhou)
• Part of Guangshen railway
• Part of Jinghu railway
• Part of Jingha railway
• Part of Jingguang railway
• Part of Longhai railway, from Zhengzhou to Xuzhou

B. Capable of 250 km/h

• Part of Jinghu railway
• Part of Jingha railway
• Part of Jingguang railway
• Part of Jiaoji Railway

C. In construction

• Handan railway
• Xianggui railway
• Ningqi railway

[edit] CRH service

Logo for China Railway High-speed

China Railway High-speed (CRH) (中国铁路高速) is a term used to denote the high speed portions of railways and the trains run on them by China Railways. Any high-speed railway in China whether or not run by China Railways is referred to by the term (中国高速铁路), which means Chinese high-speed rail. In 2007, CRH's service covers the main cities in the east on the upgraded conventional tracks. This by no means implies maximum speed usage throughout the network. However, trains on some lines, such as Guangzhou-Shenzhen Line, are operated at the top speed.

A. Intercity services (typically, listed in schedules as C-series or D-series trains):

• Beijing - Beidaihe, Qinhuangdao
• Beijing - Tianjin, Tanggu
• Beijing - Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan
• Shanghai - Kunshan, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Nanjing, Hefei, Xuzhou
• Shanghai - Hangzhou, Yiwu, Jinhua, Quzhou
• Nanjing - Hangzhou
• Guangzhou - Shenzhen
• Wuhan - Zhengzhou, Changsha
• Changsha - Nanchang
• Xi'an - Baoji

B. Long-haul services (typically, listed in schedules as D-series trains):

• Beijing - Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin
• Beijing - Jinan, Qingdao, Shanghai
• Beijing - Zhengzhou, Wuhan
• Shanghai - Zhengzhou, Qingdao, Shenyang
• Shanghai - Nanchang, Changsha

[edit] Rolling Stock

CRH1

China Railway High-speed run different electric multiple unit (trainsets), the designs of which all are imported from other nations, CRH-1 through CRH-5. CRH trainsets are intended to provide fast and convenient travel between cities. Some of the trainsets are manufactured locally through technology transfer, a key requirement for China. The signalling, track and support structures, control software and station design seem to be developed domestically with foreign elements as well, so the system as a whole could be called Chinese.

• CRH1 derived from Bombardier Regina
• CRH2 derived from E2 Series 1000 Shinkansen. In 2006, China has unveiled (CRH2), a modified version of the Japanese Shinkansen E2-1000 series. An order for 60 8-car sets had been placed in 2004, with the first few built in Japan, the rest in China.^[19]
  • CRH2B, a modified 16-cars version of CRH2.
  • CRH2C, a modified version of CRH2 has maximum operating speed up to 300 km/h by replacing two intermediate trailer cars with motored cars.
  • CRH2E, a modified 16-cars version of CRH2 with sleeping cars.
• CRH3 derived from Siemens Velaro
• CRH5 derived from Alstom Pendolino ETR600^[20]

CRH1, CRH2, and CRH5 are designed for a maximum operating speed (MOR) of 200 km/h and can reach up to 250km/h. CRH3 and CRH2C designs have an MOR of 300 km/h, and can reach up to 350km/h, with a top testing speed more than 380km/h. However, in practical terms, issues such as cost of maintenance, comfort, cost and safety make the maximum design speed impractical and remain limiting factors.

[edit] Maglev Train

[edit] Maglev Line in Operation

Transrapid maglev train in Shanghai, PRC. At MOR (maximum operational speed) of 431 km/h (267 mph), the Shanghai maglev is the world's fastest commercial train.

Shanghai Maglev Train, a turnkey Transrapid maglev project imported from Germany, capable of a top operational speed (MOR) of 430 km/h and of a top non-commercial speed of 501 km/h, has connected Shanghai Longyang Road Station and Shanghai Pudong International Airport since March, 2004. It is the first commercial operation of a high-speed maglev. However, it has not been without its problems, as it has caught fire. The line has plans to be extended.

[edit] Additional Maglev Lines

In the year 2006, prolongation project of maglev was approved by Central Government. This project will link from Shanghai Longyang Road Station through Shanghai South Railway Station to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, together with a length of 160 km from Shanghai South Railway Station to Hangzhou East Railway Station (Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev line).

However, a big debate has been raised on whether the Chinese people really need this form of expensive transportation. Obstacles also come from Germany - on whether they can transfer enough technology to China. Currently, only the project to link the two airports in Shanghai from Longyang Road Station to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is in progress. The project to link Hangzhou to Shanghai has been postponed.

[edit] Fastest Train in China

Shanghai Maglev Train holds the record of the fastest train in China, which has a top operation speed of 431km/h and top testing speed of 501km/h. However, due to the short distance (only 30km maglev tracks), the average operational speed for the maglev train is 245.5km/h.

For regular high-speed trains, China Star held the top speed record from Dec 2002 to 2008 with a top speed of 321km/h during a test run on Qinshen Passenger Railway. This record was broken by a series of testing runs in early 2008 on the newly built Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail. During a run in June 2008, CRH3 set the top speed record to 394km/h.

After the sixth national speed-up in April 2007, the new CRH trains and the high standard rails of Qinshen Passenger Railway made trains D21 and D27 between Shenyang Bei and Qinhuangdao the fastest (non-Maglev) rail service by then, which have a start to stop average speed of 197.1 km/h.^[21]

The newly opened Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail has a speed limit of 350km/h. This made trains C2018, C2032, C2066, and C2070 the fastest train services in China by 2008. They travelled between Tianjin and Beijing South Railway Station with an average speed of 240 km/h.

[edit] See also

• Passenger rail transport in China
• China Star

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• China High-speed rail network
• Ministry of Railways
• The International Maglev Board: Maglev in China

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