China HSR News And Information: Original Translation

[JSCh]

China steps up development of maglev trains
Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/9/19 19:33:42

Technology brings new possibilities for future transportation

Models of maglev trains with a top speed of 600 km/h were launched at a factory in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, in May. Photo: VCG

Technicians are busy examining a new magnetic-levitation train prototype in a factory in Zhuzhou, Central China's Hunan Province.

Zhuzhou, a city known as a forerunner of China's rail transit manufacturing industry, is fostering innovation and production of maglev trains.

"We have been pursuing independent research of maglev technology and manufacturing maglev trains with our own intellectual property rights," said Zhou Qinghe, President of CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co (ZLCL), a rail transit equipment maker and a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC).

Shanghai saw China's first commercial maglev system, a 30-km stretch between the downtown area and the city's Pudong airport, which was put into operation in 2003. But the system was based on German maglev technology.

Fully supported by its own technology, China's first medium-and-low-speed maglev line with a design speed of 100 km/h began operation in May 2016 in Changsha, Hunan Province.

As of the end of August, the Changsha maglev line had an operation mileage of 3.07 million km and had transported more than 10 million passengers.

According to Tong Laisheng, head of the Maglev Research Institute of the CRRC ZLCL, they have been aiming for new breakthroughs and more advanced versions of commercial maglev trains.

The 2.0 version of the maglev, with a design speed of 160 km/h, is being tested and a more advanced, driverless maglev train with a top speed of 200 km/h is being developed, Tong said.

"The driverless version can climb to the height of a four-story building in 100 m, just like a roller coaster. It will be equipped with a communication-based train control system that combines big-data analysis, realizing real-time diagnoses of trains, maglev tracks and power supply," Tong said.

Liu Youmei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that China has mastered the core technology for commercial maglev trains and established a system with intellectual property rights, ranging from research, manufacturing and test verification to commercial operation.

China has seen a rapid development of rail transit in recent years with its fast urbanization.

Statistics from the China Association of Metros showed that a total of 37 cities on the Chinese mainland had rail transit systems in operation as of June 30, with a total length of 6,126.82 km.

China's urban rail transit has not only achieved rapid growth in scale but also achieved high-quality development, said Xie Zhengguang, President of the Association.

Tong is confident about the prospects of maglev trains, as they offer an alternative to traditional rail and subway systems which have their own advantages in urban transit.

Maglev trains create less noise as there is no wheel-rail friction. Also, their minimum turning radius is only half that of a subway, allowing it to more easily bypass buildings in route planning and thereby avoid relocation, Tong said.

It is also more economical; the comprehensive cost per kilometer is only about a third of a subway and three-quarters of a light rail, he said.

Some Chinese cities such as Qingyuan in Guangdong Province have begun maglev-line projects, and more cities such as Chengdu in Sichuan Province and Jinan in Shandong Province are adding maglev lines into their transportation planning to connect city clusters and boost regional integration.

"More than 200 delegations from 35 countries and regions have come to Hunan Province to investigate our maglev lines. We will take into consideration the characteristics of different places, and design customized maglev trains in the future," Tong said.

Zhou said that the fast development of maglev trains is expected to foster a strong industrial chain.

"More than 90 percent of the 10,000 types of components used in the medium-and-low maglev trains are now purchased in China, which will bring new opportunities for many relevant industries including machinery, electronics and new materials," Zhou said.

Apart from the commercial operation of medium-and-low speed maglev lines, China is fostering research on more maglev train variants. A prototype of the high-speed maglev train with a design speed of 600 km/h was unveiled in Qingdao, Shandong Province, in May.

 

[JSCh]

In pics: new bridge over Dongting Lake on Haoji Railway line in C China's Hunan
Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-20 11:23:56|Editor: Li Xia
Aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2019 shows a new bridge over Dongting Lake on the Haoji Railway (originally named Menghua railway) line in central China's Hunan Province. With an annual delivery capacity of 200 million tonnes, the 1,837-km railway linking north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and east China's Jiangxi Province is soon to be the longest heavy-loaded railway in China when completed in October. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

 

[JSCh]

Xinjiang welcomes first Fuxing bullet train
2019-07-30 10:36:17 Ecns.cn Editor :Yao Lan

A Fuxing bullet train crosses the Hongliu River Bridge between the border of Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 28, 2019. It is one of the first two Fuxing bullet trains to be used in Xinjiang. Entirely designed and manufactured in China, the Fuxing, or Rejuvenation, trains are more spacious and energy-efficient, with a longer service life and better reliability than previous models. (Photo: China News Service/Cai Zengle)

 

[JSCh]

China makes breakthrough in high-speed train collision experiment
Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-28 23:38:29|Editor: yan

JINAN, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese railway equipment company based in Qingdao, a port city in eastern China's Shandong Province, announced it completed the world's highest speed collision experiment of high-speed trains Friday.

In the experiment conducted by China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) Sifang, a locomotive collided with another motionless one at a speed of 76 km per hour, the highest speed ever used for such an experiment in the world, according to the company.

The space inside the locomotives remained intact after the collision, which proves the effectiveness of the energy-absorbing equipment developed by the company and reveals China's safety technologies used in high-speed trains have reached the world's top level, said Ding Sansan, deputy chief engineer of the company.

Established in 2017, the company's collision experiment platform for railway vehicles is one of the most advanced in the country.

 

[JSCh]

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1178248048448806912

 

[JSCh]

China to build 127 key special railway lines by 2020
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-05 23:08:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- China will plan and construct 127 key special railway lines by 2020, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

These special lines, with a total length of 1,586 km, are expected to reduce the number of short shuttle trips, boost traffic efficiency and improve economic and social benefits, the NDRC said.

China has released a guideline on accelerating the construction of special railway lines, vowing to ensure 80 percent of the major coastal ports, large industrial and mining enterprises and new logistics parks will be accessible by the special lines by 2020.

The scale will reach 85 percent by 2025, with all main ports along the Yangtze River accessible by rail, according to the guideline.

 

[JSCh]

17:14, 11-Oct-2019
China to operationalize new train diagram today
CGTN

China is putting into use an updated train diagram starting this Friday. A new batch of high-speed trains will start operation, China State Railway Group Company, Ltd. said on Thursday.

According to the new diagram, 160 passenger trains and 95 cargo trains will be added to the railways network across the country. The adjustment will elevate China's passenger trains in operation to 9,139, of which 6,739 are bullet trains. The number of cargo trains in operation will also increase to 19,295.

 

[JSCh]

High-speed project gets Kuwaiti funds
By Zhong Nan | China Daily | Updated: 2019-10-12 09:11

A Fuxing bullet train runs on the Jinan-Qingdao high-speed network during its test run at the Qingdaobei railway station in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Dec 26, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Jinan-Qingdao railway receives $200m investment from foreign investor

The Kuwait Investment Authority's investment in the Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railroad in East China's Shandong province will propel more global investors to be part of big-ticket projects conducted by State-owned enterprises, analysts said on Friday.

Their comments came after the State-owned Shandong Railway Investment Holding Group Co, signed an investment agreement to transfer a 7.16 percent stake to CICC Capital - an investment unit of China International Capital Corp and an investment subsidiary of Agricultural Bank of China for 2.39 billion yuan ($336 million) on Thursday.

CICC Capital has invested $200 million on behalf of KIA, making it the first time that a domestic high-speed railway has attracted capital from a well-known foreign institutional investor, according to Shandong Railway Investment Holding Group Co.

For many players at home and abroad, investing in China's State-owned projects or assets can generate assured long-term financial returns as some of them provide business for public services and are supported by local and central governments to boost the job market, said Chen Dongqi, an economist with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission.

"The risk of market fluctuations is relatively low and it (the investment) is a positive indicator of China's ongoing reform of State-owned enterprises," he said.

The Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railway commenced operations in December 2018. The 307.9-km railway has been designed with an operating speed of 350 km per hour. It has cut travel time between Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, and Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong, to one hour from the previous 2.5 hours.

With this new line, travel time between Beijing and Qingdao has also shortened to 2.5 hours from 5.5 hours in the past.

"Such investment activities should be further encouraged and expanded to help more heavily indebted industries restore their earnings ability, and real economy sectors with competitive products and good market prospects," said Dong Ximiao, a senior researcher with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of the Renmin University of China.

"The SOE reform is an open process, which aims to attract partners in all types of ownership," said Zhou Lisha, a researcher at the research institute of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

"China also welcomes the participation of foreign enterprises in the process, if they are interested," she said. "With reforms deepening, the SOEs will take on a new look and gain new achievements."

In addition to the Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railroad in Shandong, the first privately controlled high-speed railway line in China is expected to wrap up in 2021.

Backed by Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International Ltd, the Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou line will stretch 269 kilometers across the central and eastern parts of East China's Zhejiang province.

 

[AndrewJin]

High-speed project gets Kuwaiti funds
By Zhong Nan | China Daily | Updated: 2019-10-12 09:11

A Fuxing bullet train runs on the Jinan-Qingdao high-speed network during its test run at the Qingdaobei railway station in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Dec 26, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Jinan-Qingdao railway receives $200m investment from foreign investor

The Kuwait Investment Authority's investment in the Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railroad in East China's Shandong province will propel more global investors to be part of big-ticket projects conducted by State-owned enterprises, analysts said on Friday.

Their comments came after the State-owned Shandong Railway Investment Holding Group Co, signed an investment agreement to transfer a 7.16 percent stake to CICC Capital - an investment unit of China International Capital Corp and an investment subsidiary of Agricultural Bank of China for 2.39 billion yuan ($336 million) on Thursday.

CICC Capital has invested $200 million on behalf of KIA, making it the first time that a domestic high-speed railway has attracted capital from a well-known foreign institutional investor, according to Shandong Railway Investment Holding Group Co.

For many players at home and abroad, investing in China's State-owned projects or assets can generate assured long-term financial returns as some of them provide business for public services and are supported by local and central governments to boost the job market, said Chen Dongqi, an economist with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission.

"The risk of market fluctuations is relatively low and it (the investment) is a positive indicator of China's ongoing reform of State-owned enterprises," he said.

The Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railway commenced operations in December 2018. The 307.9-km railway has been designed with an operating speed of 350 km per hour. It has cut travel time between Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, and Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong, to one hour from the previous 2.5 hours.

With this new line, travel time between Beijing and Qingdao has also shortened to 2.5 hours from 5.5 hours in the past.

"Such investment activities should be further encouraged and expanded to help more heavily indebted industries restore their earnings ability, and real economy sectors with competitive products and good market prospects," said Dong Ximiao, a senior researcher with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of the Renmin University of China.

"The SOE reform is an open process, which aims to attract partners in all types of ownership," said Zhou Lisha, a researcher at the research institute of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

"China also welcomes the participation of foreign enterprises in the process, if they are interested," she said. "With reforms deepening, the SOEs will take on a new look and gain new achievements."

In addition to the Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railroad in Shandong, the first privately controlled high-speed railway line in China is expected to wrap up in 2021.

Backed by Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International Ltd, the Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou line will stretch 269 kilometers across the central and eastern parts of East China's Zhejiang province.

This line has very good long-term prospects

 

[JSCh]

Construction of 12.3-km-long on Dali-Lincang railway completed
Source:Global Times Published: 2019/10/16 14:03:19

The 12.3 kilometer Xinhua Tunnel, part of the Dali-Lincang railway, was successfully connected on Tuesday. This is the first tunnel of such a length to be constructed in the Hengduan Mountains in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

After completion of the Dali-Lincang railway, the city of Lincang will finally be connected to the country's rail network. It will take just three hours to reach Lincang from Yunana's capital Kunming, improving the overall transportation system in the remote central and western parts of Yunnan. It will help improve transportation connections between China and neighboring countries.

The Dali-Lincang railway is 202 kilometers long with a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour. It is a national I-class electrified railway. Located in Nanzhang county, the Xinhua Tunnel is one of the most difficult projects along the route. Obstacles during the construction process included high water pressure, high geothermal heat, high seismic intensity and high ground stress.

The Xinhua tunnel passes through three faults. Temperatures inside the tunnel can reach beyond 40 C and to ensure safety and the normal operation of construction machinery, two 370 kilowatts super-powerful fans and around 10 tons of ice were used daily to reduce the heat.

 

[JSCh]

China's first intelligent heavy haul train route officially begins
Oct 17, 2019
CGTN

China's first intelligent heavy-haul train officially began operating on the Shenmu-Shuozhou Railway on October 16, marking a breakthrough in the development of heavy-haul freight rail. Its successful operation indicates that China has mastered the core technology in the field of intelligent freight heavy-haul train control.

 

[JSCh]

China's railways see 2.8 bln passenger trips in first three quarters
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-21 19:45:21|Editor: zh

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of passenger trips served by China's railways reached 2.8 billion in the first three quarters, up 9.4 percent from last year, according to China Railway.

Around 1.73 billion passenger trips were made on bullet trains from January to September, up 15.3 percent year on year.

During the period, 8,538 trains for passenger transport were put into service per day with bullet trains accounting for 71.6 percent. Fuxing bullet trains share 12 percent of the total bullet trains.

China Railway has piloted electronic tickets, optimized the standby ticket purchasing process and implemented a favorable ticket purchasing strategy for elderly people and children to provide better traveling experiences.

 

[JSCh]

Xinhua Headlines: Expo puts futuristic rail transit on fast track
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-21 22:34:06|Editor: huaxia

Intelligent maintenance helmet, energy-storage modern tram, transformer substation inspection robot...The 2019 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo that closed Sunday in the central Chinese city of Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, brought to us some of the latest products that are faster, greener and smarter.

CHANGSHA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- With its large transport capacity, safety and ever-increasing speed, rail transit has regained its popularity in China and elsewhere in recent years.

The 2019 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo that closed Sunday in the central Chinese city of Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, brought to us some of the latest products that are faster, greener and smarter.

At the exhibition, an intelligent maintenance helmet independently developed by Changsha Metro Group made its debut.

An intelligent maintenance helmet developed by Changsha Metro Group is on display at the 2019 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 18, 2019.

The helmet has communication functions, and can automatically identify equipment and personnel and greatly improve the efficiency.

As the stations, train sections and control centers all have their own systems, collaborative work is difficult to achieve and data cannot be shared efficiently. These problems have prevented a more efficient and intelligent management of the metro and other urban railway systems.

Huawei's urban rail cloud platform offers a solution to operators.

A Huawei urban rail cloud platform is on display at the 2019 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

With the support of technologies including the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence and integrated communications providers, the platform can gather and process the rich data for various application scenarios, such as face-scanning check-in, precise passenger flow prediction, one-touch opening and shutdown of stations and intelligent site management.

The maximum operating speed of the energy-storage modern tram, which was launched by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive company, is about 70 km per hour. The tram, powered by ultracapacitors, can be quickly recharged within 30 seconds when the tram stops to pick up and drop off passengers.

The CJ6 intercity EMU train manufactured by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. is exhibited at the 2019 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

The tram can travel 5 km after each 30-second charge. It can also recover the energy used in braking.

China boasts vast territory, complicated terrain and diverse climate, which has motivated the country's rail equipment manufacturers to constantly seek innovations.

A transformer substation inspection robot that can perform well in 30 degrees Celsius below zero attracted the attention of many visitors.

The robot can achieve unmanned operation and is adaptive to various environments, according to Wang Yixin, an engineer with CRSC Research & Design Institute Group Co., Ltd. "It can completely replace human labor and improve inspection efficiency," Wang said.

The robot has been deployed in substations in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is susceptible to extreme weather such as sandstorms, heavy rainfalls and extreme low temperatures.

A single robot can inspect up to 1,000 pieces of electrical equipment in a large substation.

A staff member demonstrates a smart inspection robot at the 2019 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 19, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

On Saturday, a comprehensive industrial base for the R&D and testing of rail transit equipment was launched in Changsha.

The base, owned by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (CRCHI), covers an area of 4,200 square meters and has four multifunctional test lines, including a test line for medium-low-speed magnetically levitated (maglev) trains.

"With the launch of more state-of-the-art products, China's rail industry has grown into the global frontrunner over the years," said Liu Feixiang, CRCHI's chief scientist. "We will introduce more innovative products in the future."

(Video reporters: Yao Yu, Bai Tiantian; Video editor: Zhang Yucheng)

 

[JSCh]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2933080083386048

CRRC Corporation Ltd.
3 hrs

Today, as China’s high-speed rail becomes the protagonist in China’s growth story, why should the country insist on retain some “green trains” that travel at an average speed of 60-kilometers per hour? This “school bus” might give you the answer.
The Yi people are one of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China who’ve lived within the mountains since ancient times. Today, more and more of them are living in the city thanks to urbanization, but a good number of them are still living in the mountains. Nipo Station, located in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, is a crucial stop for many of the local children who need to go to school. The 5633/5634 “slow trains” that pass through that station are their only option. These “slow trains” have been operated for nearly half a century, and passes through 26 stations, or about 353 kilometers. Fare prices range from 25 yuan (USD3.5) to as low as 2 yuan (USD0.3).
The station manager said there are about 600-700 children studying in nearby towns, and they all rely on these trains to shuttle between school and their home. Hence these trains are now known as their “exclusive school bus”. In order to better ferry them to and from school and to facilitate their studies, the station specially arranged for staff to take care of them, and also hired staff who spoke the Yi language to ensure better communication with the children. The trains also have a special space for children to read or complete their homework while on the road.
Through this low-cost “slow train”, more and more children are able to come out from the mountains and see the outside world. And when they grow up, they will be able to pursue their own dreams.

 

[JSCh]

China Railway Construction signs more contracts in first three quarters
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-24 14:56:43|Editor: mingmei

BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) reported its new contracts in the first three quarters hit a record high.

The new contracts totaled 1.12 trillion yuan (157.74 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters, up 25 percent year on year, according to the CRCC.

In the third quarter alone, the CRCC's new contracts stood at 396.54 billion yuan.