High-speed rail in China

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The People's Republic of China introduced highspeed train services on mainlines in April 2007, when the sixth national speed-up (increasing of the maximum speed on some lines) made it possible to use 6003km of tracks at speeds up to 200km/h. The main operator of highspeed train services in the People's Republic of China is China Railway High-Speed (CRH).

Nationwide, 140 trains can now operate at 200km/h or more, and this is expected to increase to 257 trains by the end of 2007. Officials from the Ministry of Railways say that 850km of track from 18 main lines have been approved for 250km/h operation. 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.[1]

Contents

[edit] High Speed Railways Currently Operational

[edit] Maglev Train

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.
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, fastest, and largest commercial operation of a maglev. However, it has not been without its problems, as it has caught fire. The line has plans to be extended.

[edit] Upgraded conventional railways

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 top speeds for passenger trains have now reached 200 km/h on 6003 km tracks of main lines. On 848 km tracks the top speeds may reach 250 km/h, most of which are on the Qinshen Passenger Railway. This speedup is mainly achieved by updating the current conventional railways and operation of the newly built CRH series trains. Some of these railways are planned to eventually reach high speed rail status.

[edit] Actual Travel Times

The new trains and the high standard rails of Qinshen Passenger Railway makes trains D24 and D28 between Shenyang and Qinhuangdao the fastest (non- Maglev) rail service in China, which have a start to stop average speed of 197.1 km/h.[2] The new trains 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.[1]

[edit] China Railway High-speed (CRH)

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. The system will run different trainsets, the designs of which all are imported from other nations, CRH-1 through CRH-5. Some of the trainsets will be manufactured locally through technology transfer, a key requirement for China. The signalling, track and support structures, control software, station design seems to be developed domestically with foreign elements as well, so the system as a whole could be called Chinese. This may be a double edged sword for China, as Taiwan has regretted not importing a full system from Japan, requiring extensive testing due to safety and operational concerns, it has been expected that China may eventually suffer from taking bits and pieces from several incompatible systems and nations.[3] However, so far the biggest trouble for the new trains is the mechanic problem of CRH5.

The CRH-1 through CRH-5 refer to a series of electric multiple unit (trainsets) in China. CRH are intended to provide fast and convenient travel between cities.

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.[5] During the sixth railway speedup in April 18th, 2007, 280 CRH trains (CRH1, CRH2 and CRH5) are put into service. By the end of 2007, 514 CRH trains will be in operation. [6]

CRH1 and CRH5 are designed for maximum operating speed (MOR) of 200 km/h. In reality, design test speed as compared to maximum operating speed is of little consequence as maintenance, comfort, cost, and safety are critical factors, making the train go impracticably fast is of little use as there are other limiting factors. CRH3 and CRH2 designs have an MOR of 300 km/h.

[edit] 200 km/h railways by 2007

[edit] CRH service

CRH1
CRH1

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:

B. Long-haul services:

[edit] Railways in development

[edit] China High-speed Railway Definitions

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

  • Passenger Dedicated Line (PDL), synonymous with High-Speed Rail. For some political reasons, people call it PDL to replace High-speed Rail. As a whole PDL net, four east-west lines and four south-north lines, total 7000 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, exactly, this level is not PDL only, it is for both passengers and freight. But for the reasons hereinabove, it is also called PDL. Mostly, this 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.
    • 350 km/h, this is the top high-speed railway in the world. No freight cars can run on this level PDL.
  • Intercity Line, with the maximum speed 200~250 km/h, built in Megalopolis.
  • Updated conventional railways, some of the main lines of conventional tracks are already updated to the maximum speed 200 km/h, at least three sections are capable to the maximum speed 250 km/h.
  • Some other similar levels rail which doesn't under the name of Passenger Dedicated Line (PDL), these railways are for both passengers and freight with standard 200~250 km/h, which are not included in the long-term PDL plan.

[edit] Passenger Dedicated Line Network

A PDL is a high speed rail route which permits speeds of more than 200 km/h. However, the name is misleading in that some lines are not passenger only. Except for the Qinshen Passenger Railway from Qinhuangdao to Shenyang, other sections of this mega network are still under construction or in plan as of 2007.[7]

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.

Four north-south lines: (PDL)

Four east-west lines (PDL)

These 8 Lines total 7000 km.

The construction schedule for lines (not necessarily operation) is as follows:

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.

Besides those line under construction, the lines follows are at the preparation stage to construction:

[edit] Intercity Line

Intercity Lines are express services between major cities, with the maximum speed (MOR) of200~250 km/h. Some utilize part or parts of the PDL network, others have dedicated lines.

Among these, Beijing-Tianjin Line , Changchun-Jilin, Nanchang-Jiujiang, Guangzhou-Zhuhai are under construction. Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Anqing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Mianyang-Chengdu, Haikou-Sanya are at the preparation stage to construction.

[edit] Other express rail outside PDL network

There are several such railways being built with the same standard of 200~250 km/h level PDL for both passengers and freight which are newly planned outside the PDL network.

[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 currently been postponed.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b International Railway Journal - Rail And Rapid Transit Industry News Worldwide
  2. ^ Railway Gazette International World Speed Survey 2007
  3. ^ THSRC challenges grow
  4. ^ a b "China's high speed fleet expands steadily", Railway Gazette International, 2007-08-01. 
  5. ^ "High speed trainsets take shape", Railway Gazette International, 2005-08-01. 
  6. ^ CCTV International
  7. ^ a b "Passenger Dedicated Lines will spearhead CR's inter-city speed-up", Railway Gazette International, 2007-08-01. 
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