Tech upgrades power trains to 453 km/h during tests

A CR450 bullet train runs at a speed of 453 km per hour in East China's Fujian province, June 28, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Bullet trains traveled at speeds of 453 kilometers per hour and 420 km/h on test runs recently, demonstrating further evidence of China's rapid development of high-speed trains, the national railway operator China State Railway Group said on Saturday.

The test runs were carried out along the high-speed railway linking Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province to gauge the performance of the trains after they had been outfitted with new technological components.

On Wednesday, test trains traveled at a speed of 453 km/h on the Meizhou Bay Bridge from opposite directions, passing each other.

On Thursday, trial trains were operated at a speed of 420 km/h on the Haiwei Tunnel from opposite directions, passing each other.

China has also been modifying its railway infrastructure as it works on developing faster trains. Some new high-speed railway lines have been built under higher standards that will allow more technologically advanced trains to operate at higher speeds in the future.

Currently, the fastest bullet trains in China operate at speeds of 350 km/h along several lines, including the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, the Beijing-Tianjin High-Speed Railway, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway and the Chengdu-Chongqing High-Speed Railway.

According to the test runs, the trains performed well with the new components, showing the achievement of China's development of the CR450 EMU, a faster bullet train. The tests also laid a solid foundation for the smooth operation of the "CR450 Science and Technology Innovation Project".

According to the railway company, the project is a major scientific research undertaking that is part of the National 14th Five-Year Plan(2021-25). It includes the development of new types of the Fuxing EMU.

To ensure the successful development of the next generation of EMU trains, it is necessary to carry out a large number of simulation calculations, bench tests and line tests of new technological components.

A total of 57 scientific research tests were carried out during the trial runs to verify the technical feasibility and performance stability of the new components of the CR450 EMU. The experiments were jointly carried out by research institutes, enterprises and universities, including the China Academy of Railway Sciences, the CRRC, Beijing Jiaotong University, Southwest Jiaotong University and Central South University.

Data on the components were collected under different speeds and at various areas along the railway such as in tunnels, on bridges and around curves.

The experiments have shown that the application of the new technologies has improved some indicators on the train. It also shows that China's technologies on high-speed railway safety, power, energy consumption, vibration, acceleration performance and braking stability will continue to lead the world.

It also provides important support for the development of faster, safer, greener and smarter CR450 EMUs, according to the company.