China HSR News And Information: Original Translation

ahojunk · Apr 7, 2017

Construction of railway line linking Baoji, Lanzhou completed
Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-06 20:23:47 | Editor: Xiang Bo

Construction of the railway line linking Baoji and Lanzhou in neighboring Gansu Province completed rail laying on Thursday.

Workers work on the construction site of a high-speed railway in Baoji City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 6, 2017. Construction of the railway line linking Baoji and Lanzhou in neighboring Gansu Province completed rail laying on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

A worker works on the construction site of a high-speed railway in Baoji City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 6, 2017. Construction of the railway line linking Baoji and Lanzhou in neighboring Gansu Province completed rail laying on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

Workers work on the construction site of a high-speed railway in Baoji City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 6, 2017. Construction of the railway line linking Baoji and Lanzhou in neighboring Gansu Province completed rail laying on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

A worker works on the construction site of a high-speed railway in Baoji City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 6, 2017. Construction of the railway line linking Baoji and Lanzhou in neighboring Gansu Province completed rail laying on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

A worker works on the construction site of a high-speed railway in Baoji City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 6, 2017. Construction of the railway line linking Baoji and Lanzhou in neighboring Gansu Province completed rail laying on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

ahojunk · Apr 10, 2017

The following video shows that China has come a long long way since the days of the slow, smelly green trains.
Thank goodness, those chaotic days are over during chunyun.
The reporter is definitely not nostalgic at all.
@anant_s @TaiShang @AndrewJin

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'My Life, My China': CGTN's Pan Deng recalls the train stations of the 1980s
CGTN
Published on 17 Mar 2017

The “My Life, My China” series is an interview series jointly produced by China Institute, Fudan University and Guan Video, covering 10 Chinese journalists who work in China, talking about China in their eyes. In this installment, CGTN news anchor and reporter recounts his childhood memories of China’s train stations and marvels at how far things have come since he was a boy in the 1980s.

yantong1980 · Apr 11, 2017

TaiShang said:
Nostalgic.

清晨，蒸汽机车在交接班。祁军摄

还在服役的蒸汽机车。祁军摄

蒸汽机车在运煤。祁军摄

 http://photo.china.com.cn/city/2017-03/31/content_40535548_5.htm

@anant_s

Very pretty and nostalgic pics, especially to the people that 'connected' with this good ol' iron horsey. This pics should dedicated to machinist, railways worker etc that on duty during this steam locomotive golden era.

TaiShang · Apr 12, 2017

Workers at high-speed railway in Liaoning
Xinhua, April 12, 2017

Workers work at the Liaoning section of a high-speed railway in northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 11, 2017. The 698-km Beijing-Shenyang high-speed railway, linking China's capital and the Liaoning province's capital, was designed with a speed of 350 km per hour. The section within Liaoning province came under construction in 2014 and is expected to complete by the end of 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)

Workers work at the Liaoning section of a high-speed railway in northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 11, 2017. The 698-km Beijing-Shenyang high-speed railway, linking China's capital and the Liaoning province's capital, was designed with a speed of 350 km per hour. The section within Liaoning province came under construction in 2014 and is expected to complete by the end of 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)

@cirr , @Andrew Jin ,

ahojunk · Apr 12, 2017

Wow! The track is so straight and level.

I won't be surprised if in the future this new track can accommodate speeds greater than 350 kph. Just need to prepare for the next generation rolling stock.

@anant_s , @AndrewJin

Stuttgart001 · Apr 13, 2017

Construction of high-speed railways abroad is part of Beijing’s massive “One Belt, One Road” initiative to increase trade and infrastructure links with countries from Asia to Africa, but most of the current rail projects have stalled.

China had a 124,000 km rail network as of the end of last year, featuring the world’s largest high-speed rail networks covering more than 22,000 km, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported in February. The amount of high-speed railways in operation Will be increased to 30,000 km by 2020, connecting more than 80 percent of the nation’s big cities.

Signing high-speed rail deals have come high on the agenda for Chinese leaders making trips overseas, but many of the deals have suffer suffer because of financing issues.

A World Bank analysis in 2014 estimated that China spends between US $ 17 million and US $ 21 million per kilometre on high-speed rail, compared with US $ 25 million to US $ 39 million in Europe, and as much much US $ 56 million in California.

The high-speed railway linking Jakarta to Bandung in Indonesia was suspended in January last year. The US $ 5.1 billion joint-venture project only received its operation permit last month, making it a step closer to resuming construction.

The construction of the 150km rail link has been criticised in Indonesia for being too costly and overlooking less-popular regions.

The various problems with international high speed rail projects.
* a large construction cost
* Lack of a rail travel culture can cause a shortage of riders
* geographic problems can require a lot of bridges and tunnels

ahojunk · Apr 14, 2017

High-speed rail to adjust ticket prices
(China Daily) 08:08, April 14, 2017

Increases aim to defray costs, ease peak loads in China's railway network

Ticket prices for some bullet trains traveling in China's southeastern coastal area will be adjusted from April 21, according to China Railway Corp.

The move will affect trains running at 200 to 250 kilometers per hour between Shanghai and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, two major economic hubs along the eastern coast, the State-owned railway operator said.

The 1,623-km Shanghai-Shenzhen link consists of three sections－Shanghai to Hangzhou; Hangzhou to Ningbo; and Ningbo to Shenzhen.

After the adjustment, some prices will increase, while others will be lowered, depending on the route and train a passenger takes, China Railway said.

Prices will go up by more than 50 percent for most first-class seats on bullet trains traveling on the 1,309-km section from Ningbo to Shenzhen, while prices for second-class seats on the route will climb by 16 to 20 percent. The prices for second-class seats from Shanghai to Hangzhou and from Hangzhou to Ningbo will rise by more than 10 percent.

For example, a second-class ticket between Shenzhen and Chaoshan now costs just under 90 yuan ($13). After the adjustment, tickets for this route will sell for 107, 102, 85 or 73 yuan, depending on the schedule.

Industry observers said the changes are aimed at using price adjustments to compensate the high construction and operational costs of China's vast high-speed railway network and to help mitigate rail transport peaks, as some price-sensitive passengers are expected to avoid some trains at peak periods because they will have the highest increase.

Last year, 818,000 journeys a day were made on the Shanghai-Shenzhen railway. On a typical day, there were 622 bullet trains operating at more than 80 percent occupancy on the route.

Despite the high-speed railway's popularity, many routes are still generating deficits, experts said, adding that this is because of the large infrastructure investment, high operational and maintenance costs, and the old regulations governing prices.

Currently, ticket prices for high-speed trains in the southeast coastal area follow the government regulation adopted in 1997, according to a railway industry source.

Sun Zhang, a professor at Tongji University's Institute of Rail Transit in Shanghai, told China Business Network that it is feasible for the southeast coastal region to test the price changes because the region is more economically developed, while high-income travelers and businesspeople from the region usually make fast and comfortable service their priority, and are less sensitive to price changes.

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anant_s · Apr 15, 2017

AndrewJin said:
For the recent incident in which one irresponsible passenger crossed the tracks ignoring the rules and warning, just a reminder for all people living or traveling in China:

View attachment 388344

In Japan, anyone who commits suicide or die because of disobeying rules on the railways, his/her family will have to compensate the railway company.

Such rule should also be implemented in China.

Fully agree!
I've met locomotive engineers who undergo a trauma when such unfortunate events occur and besides at some occasions trains are made to stop to inspect undercarriage. The causes delay for entire system which is regrettable.

ahojunk · Apr 17, 2017

Aerial view of China's high-speed rail network
New China TV
Published on 15 Apr 2017

Full steam ahead for China's railway sector in 2017. China has the world's largest high-speed rail network of more than 22,000 km, which could be further expanded to 30,000 km by 2020.

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Wow! 30,000 km of HSR by 2020.
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ahojunk · Apr 18, 2017

Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway under construction
(Xinhua) 14:53, April 18, 2017

Photo taken on April 17, 2017 shows the construction site of Xuanhua section of Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway in north China. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

ahojunk · Apr 19, 2017

Stewardesses for high-speed train take part in training program in Harbin
Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-10 22:24:58 | Editor: Song Lifang