[Teen Politican]

World’s Fastest Train Unveiled in China

October 26, 2010

AHN News Staff

Beijing, China (AHN) – China has unveiled world’s fastest bullet train to connect two of its industrial hubs, Shanghai and Hangzhou. The train will cover the 200-km distance between the two cities in just 45 minutes, travelling at an average speed of 350 kmph.

This rail link will reduce the travelling time by 78 minutes. During the testing of tracks, the home-built CRH380 bullet train traveled at a speed of 420 km per hour, setting a world record.

However, its makers said that the train would not travel at such a high speed but lesser than its full tilt at an average of 350km per hour.

The high-speed rail network already covers 7,431km after it first started between Beijing in Tianjin port city in 2008 and the Chinese government is considering expanding it to over 16,000km by 2020.

“The operation of the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed rail line will help alleviate traffic pressure in the Yangtze River Delta region”, said Liu Zhijun of the Minister of Railways. His ministry hopes to see more than three billion trips by passengers in and out of the Yangtze delta by the end of this year.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Link:
http://gantdaily.com/2010/10/26/worlds- ... -in-china/

CRH380A, which is used in the new line, is the new type of made-in-China and developed-in-China high speed train.
Hope it will be sold to the US.

There is a slide show of China highspeed rail - Latest Chinese highspeed rail technology

P.S. The words which are red are not precise, the speed should be 416.6km/h.

[Igor Antunov]

I thought the short shanghai airport to city train link was faster reaching close to 500km/h?

[voyager01]

But that is Maglev.

[Rugoz]

The speed record for the TGV is currently 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), set in April 2007.

Although the train was a slightly modified version of the standard tgv.

Today speed is usually not limited by the train itself but by the track design (and by economic considerations, higher speed means more wear of the tracks).

[Teen Politican]

The cost of experiment of TGV in 2007 was too expensive.
The electricity wire had to be rebuilt since it was destroyed.
Also there were 5 compartments for TGV when being used in experiment but the test run of CRH380A was commcercial, with 8 or 16 compartments.

I think the train will go faster and faster, and in 20 years Europe, Russia, China, US and Japan will all have superfast trains (500+ km/h).

[kingbee]

http://www.echinacities.com/aroundtown/china-in-pulse/chinese-academy-of-sciences-high-speed-rail-construction.html

Although it's great that high speed rail is being implemented everywhere (I think the Yunnan-Shanghai link will be finished at some point soon too?), maybe things should be slowed down. So many people are now being priced out of using the train and use other transportation methods instead.

[Teen Politican]

Although it's great that high speed rail is being implemented everywhere (I think the Yunnan-Shanghai link will be finished at some point soon too?), maybe things should be slowed down. So many people are now being priced out of using the train and use other transportation methods instead.

You may have missed something. CAS is the biggest supporter for Beijing - Shanghai Maglev project, which was later replaced by normal HSR (is finished).
It's not surprising for them not to support HSR.

[Igor Antunov]

Trains are awesome. Faster, bigger, better.

[Rei Murasame]

Trains are awesome. Faster, bigger, better.

I have to agree! Congratulations to China on this one, although they had better expect some competition, so they shouldn't get too comfortable in 'first place'.