Technology to Speed up Chinese TrainsTechnological preparations, in the making for three years, for a new round of high-speed trains has been announced by the Ministry of Railways, China Daily reports.Beginning in October, trains on the railways running from Jiangsu's Lianyungang to Gansu's Lanzhou, Gansu's Lanzhou to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Beijing to Hong Kong's Kowloon and Zhejiang Province to Jiangxi Province will reach speeds of 160 kilometres per hour. In 1998, some artery lines linking North and South China had reached that speed. A document from the railway ministry said that technical infrastructure facilities along those railways have proved to be competent for high speed operations. To help operate the nationwide railway communication network, computerized ticket sales and railway supervision systems have been established along artery railways. There are 24 computerized regional and 629 railway station ticket sales centers. More than 300 of the railway stations have been connected to a nationwide computer system, accounting for 80 per cent of the ticket sales. In the past three years, the document said, more than 40,000 kilometers of fiber cable network has been established by the ministry for on-line communication. In connection with the high-speed transit, the ministry has also produced some new types of trains for the operation. Some of the locomotives, such as Dongfeng 11 and Shoushan 8, are made in China. The document indicated that trains fit for speeds of 200 kilometers-per-hour or higher have been worked on by State-owned locomotive manufacturers and are under trial operation. |
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