Sunday Times 2
China makes rapid headway with its bullet trains
People world over use trains for travelling and transport goods because it is convenient and cheap. In recent times, train services have advanced at an alarming pace due to new technology introduced in countries like Canada, Japan, Germany and France.
The railway service is important to China, too. It has a population of 1.3 b people and it is the third largest country in the world. Therefore, an efficient train service is a necessity to serve a big population and cover a huge landmass.
A growing industry: China’s bullet trains on a fast track
About 15 years ago, China’s train service was somewhat primitive. It took 24 hours to travel from Beijing to Guangzhou. Realising the urgent need to provide an efficient railway service to the people, China in 2000 started a project by importing trains from Japan that run at 200 km per hour. Later China itself developed trains that travel at more than 300 km per hour.
In 2006, China laid the railway track from Beijing to Lhasa in Tibet. This paved the way for people to travel between the two cities quite comfortably. This track was laid across a land frequently covered with an ice layer. Chinese engineers have mastered the technology of building rail tracks in highly elevated areas. The Chinese Government long ago appointed an expert body to advise it on fast train services. The body included representatives from 25 high learning institutes, 11 scientific research institutes, 51 national laboratories, 63 academicians, 50 professors, 200 researchers and 10,000 engineers. As a result of this combined effort, China succeeded to make bullet trains that travel at more than 300 km per hour. Now China has become world leader in the field of fast trains — with two companies, C.S.R. and China C.N.R. Corp Ltd., engaging in research, development, design and manufacture of high speed trains.
Fast trains were introduced in 2008 between Beijing and Tianjin to cover a distance of 150 km. It was the time of Beijing Olympics. The travel time between the two cities is now only 29 minutes. China started its long distance fast train service in July 2011 between Beijing and Shanghai, covering a distance of 1,318 km. This service is regarded as the watershed in China’s railway history. This train travelled at 300 km per hour and the travelling time was reduced to 5 hours from 12 hours. The Chinese Government spent 220.9 billion yuan (US$ 34B) for this project. The locomotives used for this run were Chinese-made C. R. H. 380A and C. R.H. 380 B and they record speeds of 350 and 380 kmph respectively.
December 26, 2012 was another landmark day in the history of China’s railway. On that day the fast train service from Beijing to Guangzhou was launched. This is the longest fast train service of the world, spanning a distance of 2298 km. Before the introduction of the fast trains, this journey took 20 hours. Now one can finish the journey in 8 hours in the fast train that speeds at 300 km per hour.
The railway track goes through largely underdeveloped central areas. By this, the Government plans to bring development found in eastern parts of China to these areas. Hebei, Henan, Guangdong are tremendously benefited due to the fast train service, which also helps promote tourism. The total length of high speed railways in China has exceeded 9,300 km.
China’s next move is to link world famous cities to Beijing by fast trains. Already China has planned fast train service from Bering to New York. This train goes through Siberia in Russia and crosses the strait under the sea to Alaska in Canada. Chinese engineers believe the distance could be covered in two days travelling at 350 km per hour. They also plan a train service from Kunming in China to Singapore through Bangkok and Malaysia.
It is worth mentioning how China arrived at the top of this industry. Today China has the biggest train manufacturing capacity in the world — with orders being met on time. In addition to that China could sell them at competitive prices as the labour cost is much less. The state-owned Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co Ltd. has the capacity to produce 1,200 trains a year. With the new economic reforms, China’s railway industry has also developed at an alarming pace.
China manufactures its bullet trains to suit all climatic conditions. As China is a vast country different climatic conditions are found across it. Though the southern parts of the country are fairly hot, the northern parts are extremely cold. The Harbin-Dalian high speed railway service commissioned in February 2012 is operated in an area covered in snow for six months of the year. In addition, China has also developed ultra-modern signal and power supply systems to suit these high speed trains.
China now wants to export its fast trains. When Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Thailand in October 2013, fast trains were on the agenda of bilateral talks. Concerns were raised about the safety of fast trains after an accident that took place in July 2011 at Wenzhou in China. But the Prime Minister of China reiterated that this accident happened not due to any technical reasons but due to negligence and human error. China’s President Xi Jinping when he visited South America during the BRICS summit recently, made an important suggestion in Peru. He promoted a train line to be built across South America from Peru to Brazil, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Further he said China wished to give its fullest support for this project.
There are inquiries for these trains from countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Italy has placed orders for 50 high speed trains. Malaysia has placed orders for 10 high speed trains and 60 new intercity electric multiple units. C.S.R. Company of China has signed a joint venture with the US company, General Electric. China has so far exported trains to 83 countries.
(The writer is Vice President of Sri Lanka China Society)