China's Fastest Locomotive Engine Comes off Production Line

China's Fastest Locomotive Produced in Hunan

A bullet-shaped locomotive designed with a maximum speed of 305 km per hour, the highest locomotive so far in China, came off the production line September 3 in the Zhuzhou Locomotive Plant in central China's Hunan Province.

The electric-powered train engine called "Lanjian" ("Blue Arrow") has been designated as one of China's key technological research programs. Ten academicians from the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) observed the production with engineers and experts from the plant in Changsha September 3.

The train will be put into use on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen line in south China's Guangdong Province next year. With a motor vehicle, five carriages and a controlling compartment, the train

can accommodate more than 420 passengers.

The train is equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as an APT control signal system.

Wang Dianzuo, vice director of CAE, said the production of the train has signified that China has had an edge on the world's high-speed traction technology.

The train will improve the railway transport between big cities.

With the up-coming operation of fast trains, passengers can reach their destinations over a night trip on major railway lines within a distance of 2,000 km like Beijing-Shenyang, Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Guangzhou.