View Full Version : Railwatch:LengthMatters
von Hirschhorn
09-03-05, 07:23 PM
from history to today
As a devoted Thai railway fan I must admit there are other systems in the region worth one’s while. For example the meter gauge system in the province Yunnan in China.
A single line from Kunming (capital) via Kai Yuan – Caoba to Hekou and further into Vietnam to Lao Cai and beyond to Haiphong via Yen Bai and Hanoi.
A once foreign enterprise with a lot of French railway architecture still to be found today.
The C.I.Y = Compagnie Française Chemin de Fer d l’Indochine et du Yunnan.
Nowadays there is a service between Kunming an Hekou although between Caoba and Hekou a landslide several years ago disrupted through train service and still is as far as my information concerns.
From Caoba there is a branch line to Baoxiu via Mengzi (a separate branch) and Shiping. Partly a former 600-mm line later transferred to meter gauge. The last 600-mm line between Gejui and Jijie was closed in the early nineties. Remains still to be seen when passing at Jijie on the way to Baoxiu or vice versa.
In Vietnam the trains are from the DSVN and run from Lao Cai to Hanoi and from Hanoi to Haiphong. (two separate lines in exploitation) However, there were a couple of DSVN night coaches running (3 times a week) between Hanoi and Kunming but due to the landslide cancelled as well.
These lines have my special interest and although most of the questions are answered, there is still some unknown.
So anyone familiar with this system or having the same interest, is asked to share his or here information.
One question to begin with: why the branch was build to Baoxiu in the first place. On the spot I could not find any reason to connect a small village in it seems to be the middle of nowhere with the outer world by rail, or am I mistaking? Hidden mines or other factories or maybe thought as an extension but run out of invest money. Here’s something to explore for one who likes to leave the ordinary track.
DR.WANGEMANN
15-03-05, 02:13 AM
Dear Mr.von Hirschhorn,
from a friend of mine who just visited China I've got the information that most of this network in the Yunnan province is closed.Only on the following sections there is still a train service:Shiping-Baoxiu,Xialongtan-Kaiyuan,Xialongtan-Baoxiu and Kunming Bei-Wangjiajing.The following sections are closed:Shizui-Kunming Bei,Heituao-Dashiba,Wangjiaying-Xiaolongtan,Yugoupu-Mengzi,Yugoupu-Guanjiashan,Jijie-Gejiu,Caoba-Lao Cai(Vietnam).
The reasons for the closure are the following:
1)The tracks on most parts of the network are in a very bad condition.
2)During the last years the roads in Yunnan province were improved for economic and strategic reasons and that meant that the rail transportation lost a lot of the passengers and freight.
3)It's general politics of the railways of the People's Republic of China to have only one gauge system(1435mm)and so the narrow gauge system(1000mm)is a system which for longer terms will be totally reduced.
4)The route from Kunming to Hekou(Chinese border station to Vietnam)will be improved during the next years for the planned Pan Asian Railway Line,though then it must be narrow gauge again,as surely the rest of the involved counties won't change it's narrow gauge system(Vietnam,Cambodia,Thailand,Malaysia and Singapore)to standard gauge!Only the mentioned Kunming-Hekou line will be improved while the rest of the network will be closed,and there are still discussions in China to reconstruct this section as standard gauge with a gauge changing station at Hekou!
I do hope that some things are a lit bit clearer now.
With best wishes from Berlin from
Volker
von Hirschhorn
15-03-05, 08:16 PM
Thank you Volker for the information, since my last visit (April 2004) more sections thus are closed, even Mengzi – a branch from Yugoupu and once equipped with a big workshop - good I took the pictures in earlier years although from the workshop – French style – I only saw dilapidated remains.
Xialongtan, I do not know exactly where to place that station, if it’s not all to far from Kai Yuan in the direction of Kunming, I wonder how the newly build workshop at Yiliang can work. Means the closing of the network only passenger services or goods as well?
Anyway here again some strange decisions. I have no idea if you ever seen the scene your self, a train service between Shiping and Baoxiu is an extra ordinary event.
Anyway the one train a day service seems to be intact a least till Kai Yuan.
Can you imagine for 5 years you could ride the whole by night in a sleeper.
Indeed, many roads are improved. The luxury busses of the Yunnan Express now needs less than three hours for the trip from Kunming to Mengzi. By train it was more than twelve.
So the Chinese can count their blessings although the train is / was a far more cheap mode of transportation especially for the poor.
We‘ll see what the upgrade of the Hekou line will bring, I’ll be there because I am still not finished with this system beside the other aspects for my writing entrepreneur ship, however, this year I have to skip. Let know if there are other developments and things worth knowing.
DR.WANGEMANN
15-03-05, 09:32 PM
Dear Mr.von Hirschhorn,
even though I shall probably never get the chance to visit this famous narrow gauge system in Yunnan I have got some information on this system.The mentioned station of Xiaolongtan is 16 Km north of Kaiyuan.As far as I know the whole service is suspended on the mentioned sections which means also goods,due to the extremely poor condition of the tracks and the mentioned landslides.I don't know if you've got a station list of the system,but if not here's a start with the lines:
KUNMING-HEKOU KUN-HE-LINE
0 KUNMING BEI
3 Heituao
7 3 Gongli(Liangting)
9 Niujiezhuang
9 5 Gongli
10 6 Gongli
12 Xiaoxicun
16 Guangweicun
18 Paomashan
20 Chenggong
21 17 Gongli
23 Wangjiaying
30 Sanjiacun
36 Qidian
38 Shuitang
X Dayingcun
44 Yangzonghai
50 Fengmingcun
55 Hohbaocun
X Shuijingpo
64 Jiangtoucun
70 Yiliang
72 68 Gongli
77 Yangjiezi
84 Goujiezi
97 Dishui
110 Xujiadu
124 Lufengcun
136 Nuozu
144 Dashitian
153 Xier
162 Xiaohekou
172 Panzi
X Shimen
183 Rashuitang
193 Xicheyi
202 Lalihai
212 Xunjiansi
223 Denglongshan
232 Xiaolongtan
238 Datuzhai
243 Shilicun
245 Kaiyuan Bei
248 Kaiyuan
253 249 Gongli
255 Yulinshan
260 Data
268 Zhumashao
275 Dazhuang
283 Caoba MENG-BAO-LINE
291 Bisezhai
299 295 Gongli
304 Heilongtan
312 308 Gongli
316 Zhicun
325 Luoshuidong
330 326 Gongli
337 Gegu
341 337 Gongli
348 Luogu
355 Tingtang
359 Laojiezi
362 Boduqing
366 362 Gongli
369 Chongzhuang
375 Wantang
381 377 Gongli
387 Baizhai
391 387 Gongli
394 Lahadi
404 400 Gongli(400+200 Gongli)
X 405+500 Gongli
413 Dashutang
420 416 Gongli
425 Laofanzhai
431 427 Gongli(Sierqi)
433 429 Gongli
439 Majie
446 Nanxi
454 Mahuangbao
462 Shanyao
468 HEKOU
X Lao Cai(VIETNAM)
YUGOUPU-MENGZI MENG-BAO-LINE
0 YUGOUPU CAO-GUAN-LINE
8 Longtouzhai(Shilipu)
14 MENGZI
0 CAOBA KUN-HE-LINE
4 Mangbaicun
12 Yugoupu CAO-GUAN-LINE
18 Jiangshuidi
26 Jijie JI-GE-LINE
31 Guankou
38 Shijazhai
47 Malishu
55 Datianshan
62 Miandian
71 Wulichong
77 Jiubao
84 Nanyingzhai
90 Jianshui
97 Xianghuiqiao
101 Xinminqiao(Tuanshan)
104 Xiapochu
107 Sijia
112 Baxin
120 Renshoucun
124 Dashui(Paimamiao)
126 Wujiazhuang
130 Shiping
135 Songcun
140 BAOXIU
YUGOUPU-GUANJIASHAN CAO-GUAN-LINE
0 YUGOUPU MENG-BAO-LINE
6 Renhecun
11 Baishachong
14 Wafangcun
18 Gutun
20 GUANJIASHAN
JIJIE-GEJIU JI-GE-LINE
0 JIJIE MENG-BAO-LINE
4 Sishuizhuang
12 Zhadian
17 Shiwopu
26 Huogudu
34 GEJIU
KUNMING-LUFENG KUN-I-LINE Closed between 1968-1974
0 KUNMING NAN
8 Kunming Bei
12 Mayuan
20 Shihtsui
30 Cangpo
37 Hsingshihtsun
42 Anning KUN-AN-LINE
X Tatun
50 Chilin
59 Tsaopu
61 Chinglungshao
74 Lupiao
83 Sanhoi
93 Yanglaoshao
104 Hsuchiatun
113 Kaochuantsao
125 LUFENG
X Kwangtung
DUSHUPU-ANNING KUN-AN-LINE Closed
0 DUSHUPU
9 ANNING KUN-I-LINE
KUNMING-TAPANCHIAO Closed
Suburban service
0 KUNMING BEI
6 Heituao
10 Yangfangyao
14 Hsiaoshihpa
19 292 Gongli
21 TAPANCHIAO
The names of the last three lines are shown in Wade-Giles System,while the other ones are shown in Pinyin!
I've also got the stations for the line in Vietnam,if you like them just let me know.
I do hope that you like the list.
Best wishes from Berlin from Volker
von Hirschhorn
16-03-05, 06:15 PM
Thank you for the extended list Khun Volker.
Already found Xiaolongtan on my own map, while writing above no map on hand but this list is far more complete. (great)
So the question arise indeed how do they keep the locomotives in a good shape because the workshop is situated at Yiliang.
The list also gave some clues about the line west from Kunming Bei - the Kun-I-Line, during my last visit in use for goods only till Shihtsui. All together your contribution is more than just that.
I am interested in the Viet Nam list, you can send this to my own e-mail address if you like or other readers must be interested in this as well. Best wishes from Holland.
DR.WANGEMANN
16-03-05, 10:01 PM
Dear Khun von Hirschhorn,
as I haven't got your e-mail address yet(my own one is:dr.wangemann@t-online.de)I must give you the missing information on Vietnam on the usual way via the forum.So here is the list for Vietnam:
LAO CAI-HANOI
296.3 LAO CAI
294.1 Pho Moi
277.8 Thai Nien
262.1 Pho Lu
247.7 Thai Van
237.4 Bao Ha
X Lang Thip
218.9 Lang Key
202.0 Trai Hut
X Dong Cuong
186.2 Mo Ha
X Trai Nhoi
176.9 Ngoi Hop
X Dao Trinh
165.1 Co Phuc
155.3 Yen Bai
148.3 Van Phu
140.5 Duan Thuong
131.0 Am Thuong
X Cho Don
X Vinh Chien
X Yu Yen
115.8 Thanh Ba
X Hieu Le
108.1 Chi Chu
99.0 Phu Tho
X Ha Thach
90.7 Tien Kien
81.7 Phu Duc
72.5 Vietri
X Cai Hac
68.6 Bac Hat
62.7 Huong Lai
X Cho Cai
53.4 Vinh Yen
47.5 Huong Canh
39.0 Thap Mieu
33.0 Thach Loi
X Dong Do
26.0 My Noi Thon
X Do Noi Thon
21.1 Dong Anh
X Duc Noi
16.0 Xuan Kieu
10.9 Yen Vien
5.4 Gia Lam
X Long Bien
X Hanoi Grande Marche
0.0 HANOI
HANOI-HAIPHONG
0.0 HANOI
X Hanoi Grande Marche
X Long Bien
5.4 Gia Lam
X Co Bi
16.3 Phu Toy
X Nhu Quynh
20.8 Dinh Du
24.8 Lac Dao
X Dong Xa
34.8 Xuan Dao
41.8 Cam Giang
47.3 An Dien
52.8 Cao Ca
X Dong Nien
59.8 Hai Duong
63.8 Tien Trung
68.5 Lai Khe
71.8 Pham Xa
X Cho Gioi
79.8 Phu Tai
X Cho Phi
85.8 Du Nghia
X Cho Ho
91.5 Vat Cach Thuong
X Thuong Li
X Haiphong Marche
101.8 Haiphong
102.8 HAIPHONG DOCKS
I've included the Hanoi-Haiphong line,too,as this line was a part of the former"Chemin de Fer de L'Indochine et du Yunnan".
At the end the actual timetables for the rest of the Chinese network(Source:Chinese timetable 10/2004):
Train 8993 Kunming Bei(07:00)-Wangjiajing(07:55)
Train 8994 Wangjiajing(08:45)-Kunming Bei(09:40)
Train 8991 Kunming Bei(18:00)-Wangjiajing(18:55)
Train 8992 Wangjiajing(19:35)-Kunming Bei(20:25)
Train 8990 Kaiyuan(07:00)-Xialongtan(07:32)
Train 8983 Xialongtan(08:00)-Caoba(10:21)
Train 8985 Caoba(10:21)-Baoxiu(18:25)
Train 8988 Baoxiu(18:45)-Shiping(19:10)
Train 8987 Shiping(07:30)-Baoxiu(07:55)
Train 8986 Baoxiu(08:25)-Caoba(16:35)
Train 8984 Caoba(16:35)-Xialongtan(18:45)
Train 8989 Xialongtan(19:10)-Kaiyuan(19:45)
So that's it for the moment,hartelijke groeten van Berlijn naar de Nederlanden van Volker
von Hirschhorn
21-03-05, 07:17 PM
No time to waste for the meter gauge
For all the freaks it’s time to go there and capture these last running trains on film, to many things goes by without noticing. Sitting behind a desk and shaping the information – and yes NCR you’re right, sometimes it’s overwhelming - is one thing, good old fashion field works an other.
Anyway before I’ll be there myself I look forward to the first pictures. Meanwhile any information regarding the history of these lines is most welcome!
Wisarut
21-03-05, 08:30 PM
Stories about Yunnan meter Gauge can be read here:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/5814/harc1-3.htm
More comprehensive information about Yunnan Meter Gauge and Narrow Gauge is written here (with Japanese Kana alphabets):
http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/noz/yunnan/ezh-idx.html
DR.WANGEMANN
23-03-05, 07:20 PM
Dear Forum users,
the Kunming area in the Chinese province of Yunnan is an highlight for railway enthusiasts,as not only the metre gauge network is worth a visit but also the main lines are absolutely fascinating.The most interesting ones are the CHENG-KUN-LINE(Chengdu/Sichuan Province)-Kunming and the NAN-KUN-LINE(Nanning/Guangxi Province)-Kunming.For the last mentioned I've got a very interesting book on the whole line which shows the important highlights of that marvellous line.For all those who are interested I've translated the attached map and compiled a station and important bridges and tunnels list:
NANNING Km 788+205.15
Nanhua Km 793+960
Shajing Km 798+401.10
Jinjicun Km 804+940.5
Km 811+900=Km 0.0
Yangmei Km 19+710
Tanluo Km 29+825
Dingdun Km 40+195
Natong Km 49+850
Shuandeng Km 59+400
Lianan Km 69+350
Longan Km 77+900
Yanjiang Km 88+030
Pingguo Km 97+950
Nali Km 106+515
1 Tunnel
Shanxin Km 116+885
1 Tunnel
Silin Km 127+417
Nahe Km 137+420
Linfeng Km 147+385
Tiandong Km 158+830
Lunwei Km 166+570
Naning Km 174+605
2 Tunnel
Tianyang Km 184+390
Powei Km 193+550
Santang Km 202+850
Liutang Km 210+850
Baise Km 218+910
7 Tunnel
Yongle Km 231+270
3 Tunnel
Xiafang Km 242+370
1 Tunnel
Xitun Km 252+450
3 Tunnel
Tianding Km 260+590
3 Tunnel
Wangdian Km 271+010
1 Tunnel
Lelihe Km 275+950
1 Tunnel
Tianlin Km 284+400
Hongqitun Km 307+200
Banlandonglihe-Bridge Km 312+242 Length:534.81m
Lucheng Km 317+100
2 Tunnel
Yanlong Km 326+710
Mihualing-Tunnel Length:9392m
Genlong Km 350+929
4 Tunnel
Pinglin Km 361+900
2 Tunnel
Badonanpanjiang-Bridge Km 371+195 Length:530.18m
Bado Km 373+325
5 Tunnel
Wendian Km 382+025
4 Tunnel
Banqi Km 392+510
Dongyanghe 4 Hao-Bridge Km 393+810 Length:530.53m
1 Tunnel
Banqi 2 Hao-Bridge Km 395+218.5 Length:271.58m
3 Tunnel
Weiya Km 402+450
Panlongshan-Tunnel Length:3006m
Yingpanshan-Tunnel Length:4110m
Ceheng Km 411+450
3 Tunnel
Shitouzhai Km 422+400
Shachangping 1 Hao-Tunnel Length:3104m
1 Tunnel
Shachangping Km 428+480
4 Tunnel
Jibai Km 438+600
2 Tunnel
Baishuihe Km 445+800
2 Tunnel
Anlong Km 454+550
Longguang Km 464+300
Zhengtun Km 474+550
1 Tunnel
Zhijaopu-Bridge Km 481+678 Length:525.16m
Guangyi Km 484+500
2 Tunnel
Qingshuihe Dong Km 493+350
2 Tunnel
Qingshuihe-Bridge Km 501+138 Length:360.00m
1 Tunnel
Qingshuihe Xi Km 503+450
1 Tunnel
Pindian Km 512+320
2 Tunnel
WEISHE Km 513+320
3 Tunnel
Datianban Km 522+350
4 Tunnel
Geju Km 536+450
Yangzhai-Tunnel Length:3425m
2 Tunnel
Chajiang Km 544+800
4 Tunnel
Xijiuxi-Bridge Km 547+278 Length:344.45m
6 Tunnel
Xiaodejiang Km 554+820
Kangniu-Tunnel Length:3186m
6 Tunnel
Jiangsuatian Km 566+440
3 Tunnel
Lugou Km 577+340
2 Tunnel
Luoping Km 586+500
3 Tunnel
Yangzhewo Km 598+650
7 Tunnel
Zhongcha Km 610+150
3 Tunnel
Xinan Km 620+450
Shizhong Km 632+460
1 Tunnel
Changpoling Km 643+380
Yangcaode Km 652+060
1 Tunnel
Guohe Km 659+200
Shanchong-Bridge Km 665+960 Length:870.25m
Liuliang Km 667+330
1 Tunnel
Yinai Km 678+540
1 Tunnel
Xijiekou Km 688+300
Maoshezu Km 699+800
Shilin Km 709+660
Lunan Km 715+050
Erpaipo-Tunnel Length:4767m
2 Tunnel
Banmaoqing Km 726+500
3 Tunnel
Yiliang Bei Km 738+180
3 Tunnel
Songjiaocun-Bridge Km 764+005 Length:895.17m
2 Tunnel
Lejiangcun Km 749+160
7 Tunnel
Shuiwangying Km 761+320
Zaojiaocun-Bridge Km 764+005 Length:789.56m
4 Tunnel
Luejiazui Km 773+350
5 Tunnel
Qidian Km 784+310
1 Tunnel
Guangnanwei Km 795+250
Kunming Nan Km 803+300
Maliaohe-Bridge Km 804+811.12 Length:1028.02m
1 Tunnel
Xiyicun Km 809+410
Kunming Dong Km 627+183
KUNMING Km 634+601.08
WEISHE Km 513+840
1 Tunnel
Xinpingdian Km 522+900
3 Tunnel
Wayaotian Km 531+180
3 Tunnel
Xiaoyugu Km 550+530
6 Tunnel
Weiqing Km 560+890
5 Tunnel
Lufan Km 572+780
1 Tunnel
Jiazhuqing-Tunnel Length:4990m
Shangxipu Km 583+150
1 Tunnel
Wangjiatun-Bridge Km 589+268 Length:523.75m
HONGGUO Km 92+929.48
Kunming is the centre of a lot more railways,e.g. the GUI-KUN-LINE(Guiyang/Province Guizhou)-Kunming,KUN-YU-LINE Kunming-Yuxi(Province Yunnan)as the first part of the new standard gauge railway from Kunming to Hekou on the Chinese/Vietnamese border,which will replace the former narrow gauge line and will join the old tracks near Mengzi on the former MENG-BAO-LINE and finally the new built GUANG-DA-LINE from Guangtong(Province Yunnan)-Dali(Province Yunnan)as the first part of a line which will be extended first to Linjiang and in later stages to Laos,Myanmar and Thailand?Under construction is also the new ZHONG-BAO-LINE around the big Dian Chi Lake.
So as you can see by my short notes Kunming is really worth a visit,easy reachable by airplane from BKK and everyone of you who lives in the area should take the opportunity to visit the fantastic lines there.For me in good"old Germany"it's just the chance to see parts of the NAN-KUN-LINE(Kunming-Weishe)as a cab video.
Best greetings from Berlin from
Volker
DR.WANGEMANN
24-03-05, 12:38 AM
Dear forum users,
one week ago I got the following article from a friend of mine here in Germany.With his agreement this article is published here now.The article was written by Mr.Hans-Juergen Buhrmester of Frankfurt am Main in January 2005:
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS IN YUNNAN-PROVINCE OF CHINA
While being in Beijing in December 2004,I had the opportunity to talk to the Manager of the Railway Publishing House,Mr.Zheng.At an earlier time this gentleman had been the Director of the Kunming Railway Bureau during 7 years.
He was able to answer quite a lot of the many questions which I had brought forward concerning the abolition and the future fate of passenger trains on the narrow gauge line which runs south from Kunming Bei(North Station)towards Southwestern Yunnan and to Vietnam(Hanoi).His answers were quite often given in the "Chinese way"-i.e.quite often his answer had nothing to do with my question!But of course,he didn't want to lose face!
Anyway,here is what he explained to me:
The narrow gauge network in Southern Yunnan had been constructed between 1907 and 1910 by the French Government who controlled at that time this part of "Indochina".The railway started from Saigon and was built via Hanoi to Lao Cai/Hekou(Border stations)up to "Yuennan-Fu"-as Kunming was called at that time.The alignment of the railway passes topografically through a rather complex and difficult area.The line was constructed in narrow gauge,1000 mm(=1m).During the last 90 years,the railway was of great importance for the development of this part of the Province of Yunnan.
But during the last 10 years,some facts started to gain a rather negative influence for the operation of the railway.The rails and sleepers had become old and since they were of narrow gauge dimensions,the replacement with new material got more and more difficult.The same applied for the locomotion and rolling stock.Further there were lots of problems with the more than 100 tunnels on the line,especially in their inside.In many cases a completely new protection layer of concrete became necessary as stones were falling down and produced derailments even inside the tunnels.And to make things worse,the whole area is also bound for earthquakes!The repair costs for all this got into astronomical heights-however,the money was needed more urgently for the many new-line constructions in other parts of China.
Further,the government had built very modern and efficient highways along the railway line,so the freight and also the passenger volume was on a constant decline.Finally,the trains could only be operated in daylight-"on sight",in order to prevent accidents,derailments etc.The line was no longer secure.
The road had in actual fact cut out any economical operation of the narrow gauge line.And the last argument of the Chinese Government was and still is that the Chinese Railways should operate on one single gauge in all of China-and that is the standard gauge of 1435 mm.
During the summer 2004,the overnight trains to Kaiyuan and Hekou(with a twice weekly extension to Hanoi)were abolished-for the mentioned reasons of security.This means:there are no more direct trains running between Kunming and Hanoi.At the present time,only a few local trains still operate in different sectors between Kunming Bei,Kaiyuan and Hekou-but a continuous trip is,however,no longer possible.For this reason the relevant timetables are no longer published:the Chinese think that this is only of interest for the local people!It seems that this wonderful railway is destined to disappear completely-once and forever.
However,there is a small light at the end of the tunnel:The Government of China plans to build a standard gauge line from Kunming to Hekou on the Vietnamese Border.This line is already in operation for some 104 km along the western shore of Lake Kunming up to the city of Yuxi.Continuing southward,a completely new line is under consideration/construction from Yuxi to Mengzi(on the old narrow gauge network,see the "China Railway Atlas,Second Edition,Quail Map Company,Exeter,1999,Map 13"!)and from Mengzi to Hekou the old line will finally be upgraded to standard gauge-termination date of this giant project is approximately 2015!Further,the Chinese are also favouring a South-East Asia Railway Line running from Kunming via Hekou-Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City-Phnom Penh-Aranyaprathet-Bangkok-Hat Yai-Butterworth-Kuala Lumpur to Singapore,all on 1435 mm gauge!
That means,it will be up to the Vietnamese to upgrade their sectors from the border to Hanoi and further on to Ho Chi Minh City to standard gauge.Ho Chi Minh-Phnom Penh will have to be constructed completely new and Cambodia,Thailand,Malaysia and Singapore will also have to change their gauge from 1000 mm to 1435 mm!The Chinese Government is also of the opinion that,if any country in South-East-Asia would like to establish a through rail connection with China,it will be up to them to construct bogie-changing stations at the borders or plan a standard gauge line within their territory right from the beginning.This would also be apply to Myanmar(Burma).Some of these details have been collected from various sources in the Internet,mostly from the Xinhua News Agency.
So,the old narrow gauge line is dead-but long live the still to be constructed new standard gauge line!However,the standard gauge line will never be able to show passengers the exciting countryside and scenic spots along the many rivers in the deep valleys and gorges through which the old narrow steam line was "snaking"for nearly one century!
I do hope that you like this article.
All the best from Berlin from
Volker
von Hirschhorn
24-03-05, 05:18 PM
Khun Volker, A good article it covers the nowadays situation completely.
Khun Wisarut thanks for the websites although known before.
But this not mean the end of the thread too, still any information regarding the past of this wonderful system is most welcome.
e.g. why Baoxiu was chosen as railhead in the first place or was there any intention to go beyond?
(see also reply in the thread: NAN-KUN-LINE)
von Hirschhorn
07-04-05, 09:03 PM
Quote: Kunming is the centre of a lot more railways, e.g. the KUN-YU-LINE Kunming Yuxi (Province Yunnan) as the first part of the new standard gauge railway from Kunming to Hekou on the Chinese/Vietnamese border, which will replace the former narrow gauge line and will join the old tracks near Mengzi on the former MENG-BAO-LINE
Once I took the bus from Shiping (railhead of the MENG-BAO-LINE - actualy Baoxiu + 10 km) to Kunming via Juxi (pass by) would be very nice if this connection transform from road to rail.
However, the old tracks are beginning at Caoba – Mengzi itself is connected by side spur beginning in Yugoupu. If the city develops (growth) the same way as she did in the past years, it’s worth to have another railway station beside the lovely but nowadays outdated infrastructure some French railway architects and builders left almost a century ago. O yes, Mengzi once had a big workshop for both meter and 600 mm gauge. (I just could capture the last remaining colonial style build sheds short before demolishing. Now the whole area is booming building businnes)
The tracks beyond Caoba for sure need an upgrade or even a new alignment e.g. a lot of tunnelling. No more spectacular views or at least less. A modern railway has no respect for sentiment.
von Hirschhorn
09-11-05, 08:42 PM
I just brought another visit at the Yunnan meter gauge rail lines, at least what’s left of it since a few years since a landslide somewhere on the spectacular alignment between Caoba and Hekou. (Boarder station for Vietnam)
No more passenger train service, at least official. A few mix trains I spotted but obliviously only for locals. Such a train entered the Kunming Bei station in the morning full of market vendors from nearby.
Also in Mengzi in the afternoon such a train was bound to leave include staff standing near the doors. My question were the train was heading remain unanswered and an attempt to enter was prohibited. As all the staff was gesturing: there are no trains running any longer. Service suspends!
Goods on the contrary still running, even in a remote area like Jieje, where once the last 600 mm line runs towards Gejui, closed in the early nineties. The track bed is still there, an extra ordinary event for a rail archeologist. Have a nice walk but bring a torch there a few nasty dark tunnels halfway.
To me it’s not clear what they (CNR) want to do with the line(s) and resting good services. Maybe total closing and abandonment but in all cases not before the new line – starting from Juxi – will be ready. This in anticipation on the Trans Asia railroad. (Singapore – Kunming)
With all the bad news there is some good as well.
First of all Kunming has a brand new central station building, (only standard gauge lines) quite different from the former.
Kunming Bei (only meter gauge) looks a bit deserted and one can question why they erect a new building anyway? However, for quite a time there was a big sign on the façade: “Yunnan Railway Museum” but non activity what so ever even questions about remain unanswered if nobody seems to know what the meaning or purpose the sign was for.
This museum now opened, and what a museum, splendid, well established and most in English language, a must for every one with deep interest in the Yunnan meter gauge affair. A line with a history, a line builds by colonial expansion, a line with many casualties during building, a masterpiece of early railway building. In short something to remember and not let lost in time.
Wisarut
15-11-05, 06:03 PM
Khun Bob, More info is here:
http://rcswww.urz.tu-dresden.de/~menius/trains/china420.htm
Kunming meter gauge
Very interesting operation, very busy, stunning scenery. After the landslides in 2003/04 the entire line was build up again but passenger traffic ceased except a short, 24 km long section for local traffic out of Kunming. 5-8 diesel hauled, sometimes double- or triple headed freight trains run between Kunming, WangJiaYing (the main freight yard) and Kaiyuan and the boarder to Vietnam.
DFH21 are the only motive power on the line. Allegely work take place for the improvement of the line, e.g. for expansion of curves.
The north station (Kunming Bei) is the narrow-gauge railway station of Kunming. Long unused tracks and extensive freight yards tell about faded importance. The narrow-gauge railway was built as the first railway in Yunnan starting from 1903 under the direction of the Frenchmen which resident at that time in the neighbouring Indochina and help to exploit the Yunann minerals.
For about 12 km west of Kunming Bei in Shizuicun village lies a small transfer yard (it's in the proximity of Kunming west station). Iron ore is transfered on trucks for further transport to local iron works and for the Kunming steelworks. In addition phosphates are loaded in railway cars. In Wangjiaying station most goods are exchanged between train and truck, only few freight is hauled to the interchange yard with the CNR standard gauge or to Shizuicun.
The passenger train schedules:
Kunming Bei-WangJianYing
8993 07:00 - 07:55
8991 18:00 - 18:55
Return:
8992 08:45 - 09:25
8994 19:30 - 20.25
Most larger stations are off-limits for photographers (except Kunming Bei itself) and various guys in uniforms wander around to stop you from taking pictures: border police, economic police, security guards... Outside the stations we didn't face any problems, people are very friendly and helpful.
A day was spent between kilometers 40 and 53. The narrow gauge offered a lot of freight traffic with the pervasive DFH21. Partly, there was a train in each direction every hour, sometimes hauled by two or even three locomotives.
Locomotives seen:
DFH21 003, 006, 009, 014, 017, 021, 023, 025, 028, 031, 036, 037, 038, 057
von Hirschhorn
15-11-05, 07:00 PM
8993 07.00 - 07.55
8991 18.00 - 18.55
8992 08.45 - 09.25
8994 19.30 - 20.25
Yes, these train were running and according the record still in March.
However, as said before in October no train services what so ever for passengers, officialy at least.
DFH21 are the only motive power on the line.
No, there's also a new type running unfortunate I have not taking a picture of that.
Spotted: yes, several times.
I was in Yunnan last week and wanted to take the train to go to Hekou. Officially the traffic is closed to passengers between Kunming and Hekou.
But there is one train in each direction everyday. After discussion i managed to get in the train in Caoba, and i had to get out in Baihe, halfway to Hekou. I was told the train didn't go to Hekou.
The train was composed of 12 wagons (9 for freight and 3 for passengers)
There were no passengers at all in Caoba except railway workers, but between Zhicun and Baihe, it was quite busy.
In Zhicun you'll find lots of women coming or heading to the market. At another place, near the namsi river bridge, kids use the train to go to school everyday.
So the railway is still in kind of use..
Wisarut
24-11-05, 04:29 PM
Well,Yunnan Meter gauge is nowverysimilar to Suirat Thani -- Khirirat nikhom local line :rolleyes:
Wisarut
24-11-05, 04:32 PM
Well,Yunnan Meter gauge is now very similar to Suirat Thani -- Khirirat nikhom local mixed train :rolleyes: ONLY local people and theoserialway workers use this line ... :(
von Hirschhorn
24-11-05, 07:38 PM
...After discussion i managed to get in the train in Caoba ...
How hard you had to discuss? I could not board a similar train at Mengzi.
However, you ride the most spectacular stretch of the line.
In my opinion someone from higher railway hand ordered the closure (at least passenger service) but on lower level workers still hang a few coaches on a goods train in order to facilitate locals along the line. It’s running but not official.
:)
von Hirschhorn
24-11-05, 07:44 PM
... Yunnan Meter gauge is nowverysimilar to Surat Thani -- Khirirat nikhom local line ....
No Khun Wisarut, nothing similar at all. Surat - Khirikat is mere a single line ending in the middle of nowhere. Yunnan a network and although passenger service is waning, goods are running regulary something someone living in Khirikat never shall see. :rolleyes:
Actually, get in the train was not very difficult. I asked the day before and was told that i will be probably possible if i'll be there for departure.
So I came to the station 15 minutes before departure. I talked with the group of railway workers waiting for the train, and to everybody it seems just evident that i will get on the train. But i should add that I speak quite a good chinese, which helps a lot.
I got the impression that passengers hadn't any tickets, which would shows that the train is not running officially, but only to local people convenience.
von Hirschhorn
29-11-05, 05:26 PM
Thank you for the reply. It's a must to speak Chinese if you want to explore the meter gauge in a propper manner. Unfortunate I don't speak Chinese at all. Yes,Thai but less helpfull for these circomstances.
However, bit by bit the picture becomes clear and even without knowledge of the language still fun enough to be there.
Some very atmospheric rail pics & maps from China & others :-
http://www.farrail.net/maps/landkarten.html
http://www.farrail.net/bilder/china/jitong/jitong-ausf-shangdian-su.jpg
Tower 43
07-12-05, 04:54 PM
Great links to outstanding photographs and related information on steam in China.
Many thanks,
jpatokal
16-06-06, 07:59 PM
Shanghai's spanking new South Railway Station will be opening for test runs on June 25th (source: Shanghai Daily (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/06/15/283250/South_Railway_Station_to_begin_trial_rides.htm)). Some amazing pictures and renderings at Skyscrapercity:
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=226869
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=313671
http://www.abbs.com.cn/bbs/post/view?bid=18&id=8061665&sty=1&tpg=2&ppg=1&age=0#8061665
Note the circular design, reputedly first in the world, with the railway running through the center and subway lines at both edges.
jpatokal
03-07-06, 10:59 PM
The station opened last weekend, here are some post-opening pics:
http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20060626_south_railway_station_pictures.htm
Ridership appears to be a lot lower than expected, but that's sure to change as they ramp up services.
From the recent completion of the Tibet railway (with three more stretches planned in that country), we had better believe that the Chinese are serious when they say they will actually start this project this year: -
China to Build Railways Linking Yunnan to ASEAN Countries
By Songrit PhonNgern
16/01/2007
China has approved a $6.3 billion project to build three railways linking its Yunnan province to Vietnam, Laos, and Burma, with the goal to eventually extend the railways further South to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
The railways, which is to start this year, will be built in two phases. The first phase linking China's Yunnan province to Vietnam, Laos and Burma is expected to be completed by 2010, with completion of the second phase - from Vietnam to Cambodia, Laos to Thailand, and from Burma to Thailand and eventually to Malaysia and Singapore - expected in 2015 at the latest.
Meanwhile, Lao authorities say the construction of the rail track linking the Friendship Bridge to Vientiane's Tha Nalaeng port has started and is expected to be complete in 2008.
http://www.voanews.com/lao/2007-01-16-voa2.cfm
Link to report on ACTUAL commencement of Thai-Laos rail link 8 days ago: -
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=13271&postcount=42
Report on tourist railway development in Southern Laos:-
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=13273&postcount=19
jpatokal
28-01-07, 02:00 PM
Isn't there already a rail link from Nanning in China to Dong Dang in Vietnam? :confused:
Indeed, this page also makes it clear that the Dong Dang border has mixed standard and meter gauge. There is also, of course already a meter gauge line to Kunming in China's Yunnan Province over the Lao Cai route. I imagine that they are envisaging an upgrade of the route for eventual ASEAN through running. This Vietnam Railways site is actually quite informative, but some of the development plans are a bit vague for the outsider. But again, with their recent announcement of a rapid railtrack from HCMC to Hanoi and a definite intention to build into Cambodia, they are looking a great deal more ambitious than SRT right now: -
http://www.vr.com.vn/English/hientaihoatdong.html
von Hirschhorn
30-01-07, 10:02 AM
Mixed standard gauge comes as far as Hanoi but not on the ‘Long Bien’ bridge. However, passengers have to disembark at Dong Dang and change trains. For the other line with Lao Cao on the Vietnamese side and Hekou on the Chinese one, passenger service on the Chinese network ceased at least the official services. Unofficially last year I still saw trains running. (Passengers and goods)
Next month this year visit, we’ll see what it will bring and never feel old enough to be surprised. ;)
Wisarut
30-01-07, 11:26 AM
Well, the Chinese Seection of good old Hanoi - Yunnnan Fu (North Kuunming) is goign to be rehab as Standard Gauge line ... with Gauge changing at the Border (Chinese sideX ... Vietnam Railway Corp is goign to rehab the section from Hanoi to Lao Cao Checkpoint though
Thsi railways lien had been visited by the late Col. Saeng Chulacharit (the RSR General Manger from 1965 - 1971) ...
http://www.railwaygazette.com/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=3477&PrinterFriendly=true
Chinese expansion continues
01 January 2007
CHINESE RAILWAYS has confirmed plans to invest 300bn yuan during 2007 on network extensions and capacity enhancement, as part of the 11th five-year plan which is due to see investment total 1 500bn yuan in 2006-10.
Describing the package as 'the biggest in Chinese history' the National Development & Reform Commission's Transport Director Li Guyong said on November 22 that it would expand the national rail network by almost 20% to 90 000 route-km by 2010.
Breaking down the plan expenditure, Li said the Ministry of Railways is spending 625bn yuan on civil engineering works, 600bn on railway infrastructure equipment and 250bn on locomotives and rolling stock.
On the same day plans were announced for construction by 2009 of a dedicated passenger line between Jiujiang and Nanchang, parallelling the Beijing - Kowloon main line. Designed for 200 km/h, the 131 km line will cut the journey time between the two cities from 90 to 40 min. The 6·2bn yuan cost is to be shared equally between the Ministry of Railways and the Jiangxi provincial government.
CR is currently working on preparations for its sixth national timetable speed-up, which is scheduled to take place on April 18. This will see the maximum speed raised to 200 km/h on more than 6 000 route-km, with a further 22 122 km cleared for 120 km/h. Deputy Minister of Railways Hu Yadong said in December that the change would see CR's first 250 km/h trains introduced on the trunk lines from Beijing to Harbin, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as on the upgraded Jinan - Qingdao route.
With the timetable change expected to deliver an 18% increase in passenger capacity, CR is planning to launch a further seven long-distance express trains and more than 400 regional express services around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
With a China-Asean free trade zone to be set up in 2010, CR expects to invest more than 50bn yuan on new line construction in the southwestern province of Yunnan, over the next five years. This includes work on three routes designated as part of the Trans-Asian Railway network (RG 12.06 p759).
Construction has started on the 142 km Yuxi - Mengzi line leading to the Vietnamese border at Lao Cai, from where DSVN is upgrading its 146 km line to Hanoi. Preparatory works are underway for a 599 km line from Yuxi to Mohan, which will eventually be extended into Laos, and a 366 km line from Dali to Ruli which will provide a link with Myanmar.
von Hirschhorn
31-01-07, 11:50 AM
Well, the Chinese Section of good old Hanoi - Yunnnan Fu (North Kunming) (Kunming Bei) is going to be rehabalitated as Standard Gauge line Only the existing line somewhere around Cabao - where the branch to Baoxiu begins. On this branch there are another branches, one to Mengzi. Once the new line from Yuxi till Mengzi is there, in my opinion they won't use the old alignment but make a new diversion direct southwards and thus avoiding Caoba. However, the most spectacular strech of the line - mountanious - must be upgraded and that would be a hell of a job. As far as I could have seen the today alignment hardly offer enough space for a single meter gauge track, let alone the many tunnels, bridges or viaducts.
This Train Beats Walking (Sometimes)
By WAYNE ARNOLD
Published: December 3, 2000
EXPERIENCED rail travelers recognize it is an almost certain sign of delay when fellow passengers abandon the train and strike off into the surrounding mountains on foot. This may not be very practical wisdom for the average Amtrak passenger, but it could be good to know if, like me, you find yourself riding to meetings in Hanoi through Yunnan Province in China during the summer rainy season.
Maybe I had been too gullible when I read in my guidebook that there was a regular train from Kunming, the capital of the province, to Hanoi. I had been planning to vacation in Yunnan Province and needed to do some reporting in Vietnam. What better way to study the relative benefits of globalization, I thought, than to ride a train across the border from China, newly converted capitalist libertine and aspiring World Trade Organization member, to Vietnam, petulant socialist wallflower?
China had certainly let its hair down in the nine years since my last visit. Kunming, once a proudly dour Communist city, had swapped its olive drab for planters of zinnias. Chengdu, the leafy metropolis with the fiery cuisine in Sichuan Province, to the north of Yunnan, had transformed itself into an explosion of department stores, cellular phones and dot-com ads.
The trains also had undergone a makeover of sorts during that time. The bituminous stench of water boiling for tea endures, but loudspeakers blare the theme of ''Titanic'' instead of old patriotic marches. Gone are the sullen women, pushing dirty mops, who were the conductors. They have been replaced by perky women with pageboy haircuts and dirty mops.
The narrow-gauge railway up the Red River was built by France in 1910 after the country persuaded China to give it mining concessions in Yunnan. China and Vietnam have managed to preserve the same 473-mile railway despite war with the Japanese, Chinese Nationalists, the French, the Americans, and then, deprived of common foes, each other. Now the line accommodates a twice-weekly train with first-class berths for the equivalent of $37.
My ticket read like a Warsaw Pact VCR instruction manual, printed in every language but English -- Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian and German. It came as little surprise that almost no one on the train spoke English, not even the tour group of language teachers from Vietnam sharing the ride. But I was fortunate to be sharing a cabin with a British couple for whom this 18-hour journey was a footnote. They had just survived a week aboard the Trans-Siberian railway, a moving bazaar in which bunks make way for car parts and other assorted goods traversing the global economy.
Our jaunt through the mountains held its own in the misery category. Narrow gauge is railway jargon for tightrope, and the train careered drunkenly through the night. The engineer indulged his fear of head-on collisions with frequent blasts of an earsplitting horn. With the cabin window closed, the sound was just painful, but the heat was unbearable.
Deciding that hearing loss was preferable to suffocation, we voted to open the window, only to be vetoed by our fourth inmate, an antique Vietnamese man. We deferred to the man's age; the window stayed shut.
We turned our efforts instead to persuading a conductor to turn on the air-conditioning. But the railway's frugality dictated that it not be turned on during cool weather, regardless of the temperature inside. After fuming at his console for 10 minutes, the conductor relented by setting the temperature to ''arctic.''
Morning found us semifrozen, our train stalled along a swollen Red River about 25 miles from the border at a muddy village called Lao Fan Zhai. Jungle-covered mountains rose steeply around us. The rains had sent a landslide down over the tracks up ahead. For four hours, we waited, watching the rain clouds play among the lush peaks as tribesmen in colorful attire drifted through the station to gawk at the massive diesel engine.
It was around this time that the local passengers decided to take their chances on foot. To say I wondered if I shouldn't follow them, the cognoscenti, is putting it too mildly. Hoofing it through the frontier appealed to my sense of adventure. But a modern instinct overcame me: I was a paying passenger and the railway had contracted to deliver me, I reasoned. Though the arrival time on my ticket was a joke, I clung to my faith in the agreement's spirit and sated my taste for adventure with a bowl of spicy noodles from the station canteen.
My inertia was rewarded when, through a series of interpreters, we were told that workers were trying to clear the route. Indeed, it wasn't long before men with picks and shovels appeared, having liberated the tracks ahead. We pulled into Hekou, across the border from Lao Cai in Vietnam, at about noon -- nearly two hours after the schedule in Kunming said we were to arrive in Hanoi.
The guidebooks say the Kunming-Hanoi train has been in service for the past seven years, enough time certainly for the Vietnamese and Chinese railway employees to have made clockwork out of the crossing. Those employees apparently were not on duty this particular day.
After our arrival, employees from both countries gathered on the platform to solve the twice-a-week riddle of how to carry passengers from China to Vietnam without letting a Chinese train pass into Vietnam. To accomplish this, our train was stripped to a single car to accommodate those of us continuing to Hanoi. A dilapidated Vietnamese car appeared on the rear to create what appeared to be bilateral travel, but then the Chinese engine rolled away and a Vietnamese engine, toylike by comparison, attached itself to the front.
JUST as the quiz-team leaders were nearing a solution, the extra-credit problem arrived in the form of four Bangladeshi students from Hanoi. Having made a day trip across the border, they now wanted to return. Problem: their visas to re-enter Vietnam weren't in order, but their Chinese visas didn't allow them to stay. China said they had to go back; Vietnam wouldn't take them.
Compounding the confusion, someone realized that there was now a Chinese car sandwiched in the middle of a Vietnamese train. A conductor boarded to shoo us all into the Vietnamese car while a clutch of railway workers on the platform yelled at one another in their respective languages.
By 4 p.m., the two sides had worn themselves into agreement. The Vietnamese engine lugged the Chinese car onto the next track and then returned. A grubby Vietnamese kitchen car was tacked onto the rear and, Bangladeshis on board, we eased across the border.
Immigration officials board the train in Lao Cai to check passports and glance into luggage, so after a brief encounter we were hurtling through the night along the Red River. We adjourned to the kitchen car to celebrate our arrival in Vietnam over tepid beers.
A drenched Hanoi station materialized outside our window at 1 a.m. -- 15 hours behind schedule. It was dark and quiet, and the gates were padlocked. So convincingly had the station shut for the night that we had to persuade the few remaining station employees that we had the right to be released.
Though it lacked the towering department stores of Kunming and Chengdu, Hanoi was in full capitalist embrace just the same. Vietnam had signed a trade pact with the United States while I was in Yunnan. Already, Hanoi's shelves were stocked with Gillette shaving cream, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Colgate toothpaste.
While both China and Vietnam appear open to trade from the rest of the world, the border they share is only semi-permeable, it seems. For no matter how comradely these Communist neighbors may say they are, they still won't accept each other's currency. Neither the hotel, nor the foreign-bank branches -- not even the government-run banks -- would trade Vietnamese dong for my Chinese renminbi. Vietnam and China may be fellow travelers on the road to globalization, but if the crossing at Lao Cai is any indication, they won't be bunking together.
WAYNE ARNOLD contributes to The Times from Singapore.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=950DE7D8163DF930A35751C1A9669C8B63
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7D8163DF930A35751C1A9669C8B 63&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=2
von Hirschhorn
04-02-07, 12:26 PM
... Neither the hotel, nor the foreign-bank branches -- not even the government-run banks -- would trade Vietnamese dong for my Chinese renminbi ...
Well, I had no problems what so ever on the Heikou and Lao Cai boarder, it must have been around the same time. On the Vietnamese side stood a change booth at least they trade my Dong for the wanted Yuan. I must admit, I did not passed the bridge by train but on foot.
FOR ALL WHO WANT TO CHECK BY THEMSELVES, THERE'S NO TRAIN SERVICE FROM KUNMING TILL HANOI ANY LONGER. :mad:
China approves construction of Pan-Asia Railway
www.chinanews.cn 2007-02-15 09:49:32
China, Kunming, Feb. 15 – Chinese government has approved the construction of the Pan-Asia Railway from Dali to Ruili, the last section of the western part of the railway in Chinese territory.
The section will extend 325 kilometers in length and the total investment in the construction will reach 15.3 billion yuan. It will start from Dali, in Yunnan, travel westward to pass Baoshan and Dehong and finally reach Ruili, a land port city near China-Myanmar border. The railway will be a standard-gauge electric railway line, with a design speed of 160 kilometers an hour. Construction of the railway is expected to finish before 2011. By then, it will take only two hours to travel from Dali to Ruili by train.
In recent years, Chinese government has attached great importance to railway construction work in Yunnan Province, and the railway lines in Yunnan are beginning to be extended to China’s neighboring countries. As a result of this effort, China is going to build an international railway line between China and Vietnam, also called the eastern part of the Pan-Asia Railway. For this part, China will build the railway line between Yuxi, Mengzi and Hekou in Yunnan. At present, construction work on the section from Yuxi to Mengzi, 141 kilometers in total length, has already begun, and construction work on the section from Mengzi to Hekou is expected to finish by 2010. The middle part of the Pan-Asia Railway will travel between China, Laos and Thailand, and construction work from Yuxi to Mohan, a section that will cover 599 kilometers within the Chinese territory, is well under way. Construction work from Dali to Ruili, the western part of the Pan-Asia Railway within the Chinese territory, will begin soon.
http://news.jongo.com/?channel=read&action=outLink&id=6444
China's first high-speed train takes the rail, pulls China into high-speed era
2007-04-17 00:23:00 Xinhua English
http://images2.sina.com/english/china/1/2007/0417/U10P33T1D109827F8DT20070417232120.jpg
Numbered D460,the train designed to run at a speed of 200 km per hour left east China's Shanghai for Suzhou at 5:38 a.m., ushering in a high-speed era for the world's fastest growing economy. (Xinhua Photo/Chen Fei)
http://images2.sina.com/english/china/1/2007/0417/U10P33T1D109827F10DT20070417232120.jpg
Two smiling attendants are selling beverages and snacks onboard a China's most advanced multipal unit train today. The nationa-wide speed upgrade, which kicks off today, bring passengers an average speed of 200 kilometers per hour as well as better services.
SHANGHAI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A train designed to run at speeds up to 250 km per hour left Shanghai for Suzhou early Wednesday morning, ushering in the era of high-speed rail travel in the world's fastest growing economy.
Nationwide, 280 high-speed trains left stations on their first high-speed runs on Wednesday. By the end of the year there will be more than 500 high-speed trains in service.
Train D460 left Shanghai at 5:38 a.m. and arrived in Suzhou 39 minutes later, cutting travel time for the 112 km journey almost in half.
"It felt like we were traveling on an airplane," said 78-year-old Chen Lijuan, a native of Suzhou who lives in Shanghai." In the past it took more than an hour to get here."
Liu Dongwei, the 38-year-old driver of the train, has seen six "speed boosts" on Chinese railways since 1997.
"The speed limit for trains has risen dramatically, from 40 to 50 kilometers per hour to the current 250 kilometers per hour," he said.
When Liu started his career in 1993, he shoveled coal into a steam locomotive.
"My job has become easier as it's more like operating an airplane," Liu said proudly of his train, which is powered by multiple electric engines.
Chinese railway officials said last year that China accounted for a quarter of the world's total railway transport volume, while its total rail lines were only 6 percent of the world's total length.
"The sixth speed lift will boost passenger and cargo capacity by more than 18 percent and 12 percent respectively," said Hu Yadong, vice-minister of railways.
http://english.sina.com/china/1/2007/0417/109827.html
jpatokal
13-05-07, 07:57 PM
And of course what they aren't saying is that the "CRH-2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRH-2)" is in fact a Japanese E2-1000 Shinkansen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E2_Series_Shinkansen) in very thin disguise. :mad:
Is it a shinkansen hybrid? seems they have Siemens and Bombadier parts as well.
jpatokal
15-05-07, 04:26 PM
Is it a shinkansen hybrid? seems they have Siemens and Bombadier parts as well.
My understanding is that the CRH-2 is 100% Japanese. But there are more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Railway_High-speed): the CRH-1 is Bombardier, CRH-3 is Siemens ICE 3 and CRH-5 is Alstom's Pendolino. (Presumably CRH-4 doesn't exist because it's an unlucky number in Chinese.)
Link to article on an already active Vietnam Rail Corp project to upgrade this link on its side of the border:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=15682&postcount=15
Asean, China Seek Private Investment for Railway Project
By Teresa Cerojano/AP Writer/Manila
August 28, 2007—Southeast Asian countries and China will hold a high-profile seminar before the end of the year to lure private investments for a US $2 billion railway project linking Singapore to southern China to facilitate the flow of goods and people across the region, officials said Monday.
The Singapore-Kunming Rail Link project aims to construct or upgrade 550 kilometers (342 miles) of "missing links" in a 7,000 kilometer (4,350 miles) rail network connecting China and seven of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
No completion date has been set but officials were hoping to have some connection ready by the time the regional bloc fuses into an Asean Economic Community by 2015, Asean Secretary General Ong Keng Yong told reporters.
Ministers and officials of Asean and China welcomed the proposed high profile seminar to attract potential investors to the project in a joint statement after their Asean-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation meeting in Manila Monday.
Ong said officials hope to hold the seminar before the end of the year, after an October investment roadshow for Asean and the Mekong Basin spearheaded by Asean finance ministers.
At Monday's meeting, implementation of 45 projects in the Mekong Basin—a region that includes parts of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and China—was also reviewed.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/headlines/aug28c.php
Related post on projected Vietnam-Cambodia rail link:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=16753&postcount=18
China's Self-developed bullet Train To Debut By Year End
QINGDAO, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- China's first self-designed and self-manufactured passenger train with a designed speed of 300 km per hour, equal to that of the famous Japanese bullet train, will roll off the production line by the end of this year, the manufacturer has announced.
China's Xinhua news agency reported that the new high-speed trains, which can seat around 600 passengers, will run on the 115-km-long Beijing-Tianjin rail route before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in August. The rail journey between the two cities will be reduced from the current 70 minutes to around 30 minutes.
Production of the high-speed train is well underway and the first train will debut at the end of the year, said a spokesman of the Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. based in Qingdao, a coastal city of east China's Shandong Province.
Currently, China's fastest domestic trains run at a service speed of up to 250 km per hour.
Sifang Locomotive, a subsidiary of China Southern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation, will deliver 10 such trains to the Ministry of Railways in the first half of next year, said the company.
China launched its sixth train speed boost on April 18 bringing the country more firmly into the era of high-speed train travel. Trains run on the Beijing-Harbin, Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Guangzhou rail routes at speed of up to 250 kilometers per hour.
A Eurostar train shattered the record for the quickest rail journey between Paris and London when it traveled at 300 km per hour on the UK speed track on Tuesday.
French national railway's TGV bullet trains, currently the world's fastest, travels at a service speed of 320 km per hour.
China's planned Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev railway will allow trains to run at 450 km per hour.
-- BERNAMA
More specific page links sometimes do not copy well on the Bernama site:
http://www.bernama.com.my/
http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=861&Itemid=32
To Go Fast Is Glorious
Mark O'Neill
09 November 2007
Beijing says it will build its own high speed train, thank you. No foreigners need apply
When China announced in 1998 that it would build a high-speed train line between Beijing and Shanghai, railway companies and politicians in Japan, France and Germany licked their chops.
China would have neither the technology nor the capital for such an ambitious project, they thought, and so one of the three would get the deal, leaving a huge contract open for somebody to build.
A decade on and how wrong the foreigners proved to be. An announcement by the State Council on October 30 of a “leading group” to oversee construction left the foreign companies with only bit parts to play in the second biggest rail project in China’s history, after the Qinghai-Lhasa line that opened on July 1, 2006.
Beijing has nearly all the capital and technology it needs. Foreign equity will be no more than 10 per cent of the stock of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Corporation, the entity that will build the line and will have a registered capital of 110 billion yuan. Bank loans and bond issues will raise another 110 billion yuan, according to press reports.
The numbers on the project are staggering, even in a country of superlatives. The latest estimate of the cost is around 220 billion yuan ($29.5 billion). The line will run for 1,318 kilometers through 20 tunnels, over 28 bridges and into 21 stations. It will require bridges over the Yellow and Yangtze rivers and will run parallel to the existing Beijing-Shanghai line, carrying only passengers and allowing the older line to devote itself exclusively to freight.
Running at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour, it will cut the journey time from the current 10 to five hours, on the busiest route in China, which accounts for 10.2 per cent of national railroad passenger volume. It will carry 80 million passengers a year after completion in 2010.
The numbers have the country’s biggest state institutions fighting for a stake, convinced that it will be a golden goose that will lay eggs for years to come. The fare will be 600-700 yuan, half the standard air fare.
Front-runners for major slices are the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank, China Construction Bank, CITIC Securities and the National Social Security Fund. The country’s three biggest insurers, China Life Insurance, Ping An and People’s Insurance also want stakes.
According to Chinese media, the only foreigners in the bidding are Panin Holdings of Indonesia and an unnamed private equity fund.
The biggest stakeholder will be the Ministry of Railways, which is likely to invest 40 billion yuan for a stake of 35 per cent. The local governments of the regions through which the line will pass – Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu are likely to invest a total of 20 billion.
A spokesman for the ministry said that negotiations on the composition of the new rail consortium were still being worked out and the final allocation of shares had not been decided. He declined to give details.
Two issues are delaying agreement. One is the form of investment, with Anhui, for example, wanting its share to be in land, not money. The other is the form of compensation for those who occupy the 4,470 hectares of land through which the line will run. Since it is the most prosperous land in China, the compensation will be substantial, up to 23 billion yuan.
In this story, the ministry is the big winner. For nearly 10 years, it has resisted pressure from other ministries to start work on the line using a foreign system, the Japanese Shinkansen, France’s Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) or the German InterCity Express. It held off by insisting that it had the technology to build a comparable line, the foreign models were too expensive and such a strategic project should not be given to a foreign firm.
It bolstered its arguments by rapidly improving the speed and standards of domestic trains on major routes.
For their part, backed by their respective governments, the Japanese, French and Germany companies invested time, money and manpower in lobbying for the tantalizing line, which would have been the biggest and most prestigious foreign project for any of them, if they had won.
Because of historical antagonisms, Shinkansen’s chance of victory was always small and disappeared when former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui chose it in 1999 for the Taipei-Kaohsiung route. Costing US$15 billion for a 336-km route, it opened on January 7, 2007. [Mod: One comment says it was Jan. 5]
Initially, the Ministry of Railways also said that it would use only domestic technology but, in May 2006, invited foreign companies to bid. Alstom, Siemens and Mitsubishi-Kawasaki are considering bids, especially for the rolling stock.
To raise funds for its stake in the umbrella company, the Ministry of Railways has applied to the regulator for permission to list A shares in its subsidiary, China Railway Company, followed by an issue of H shares. It aims to raise US$2 billion in Shanghai and US$1.8 billion in Hong Kong.
In the current bull market, it should have no trouble raising the money, especially as there are only two railway companies listed on the stock market, one carrying coal and the other passengers from Guangzhou to Shenzhen.
In the current five-year plan, Beijing has promised to invest 1.25 trillion yuan in train lines and equipment and 250 billion yuan for locomotives and rolling stock. By the end of 2010, the ministry aims to have laid an additional 17,000 kilometers of track – half as much as in all of Germany – to create a national network of more than 90,000 kilometers.
In such an ambitious plan, how could the train on China’s premier route be carrying a foreign flag?
jpatokal
12-11-07, 12:23 PM
In this story, the ministry is the big winner. For nearly 10 years, it has resisted pressure from other ministries to start work on the line using a foreign system, the Japanese Shinkansen, France’s Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) or the German InterCity Express. ...
For their part, backed by their respective governments, the Japanese, French and Germany companies invested time, money and manpower in lobbying for the tantalizing line, which would have been the biggest and most prestigious foreign project for any of them, if they had won.
Because of historical antagonisms, Shinkansen’s chance of victory was always small and disappeared when former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui chose it in 1999 for the Taipei-Kaohsiung route. ...
Initially, the Ministry of Railways also said that it would use only domestic technology but, in May 2006, invited foreign companies to bid. Alstom, Siemens and Mitsubishi-Kawasaki are considering bids, especially for the rolling stock.
This article is partly self-contradictory and partly just plain wrong. The train in the bloody picture is a Japanese Shinkansen E2, built in Japan but rebranded as "CRH 2" and already happily running on Chinese rails. Odds are very high they'll do precisely the same thing for the Beijing-Shanghai railway as well: it may be locally financed, and they may even build the trains locally, but the technology will still be Western. The only fully-Chinese high-speed train ever made, the China Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Star) was a miserable failure that couldn't even do 160 km/h reliably and has now been mothballed.
jpatokal
02-12-07, 02:55 PM
5 months after the paper version, JRTR Issue 47 is online, and the theme is high-speed rail in Asia:
http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr48/index.html
Competent articles on Japan, Korea and Taiwan as well, but particularly insightful (IMHO) was the article on China's development:
http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr48/pdf/f22_Oka.pdf (1200 KB PDF)
http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr48/f22_oka.html (HTML)
We've been reading a lot lately about how much investment China has been pouring into its railways, but I was quite shocked to see what a low base they're starting from. A few representative figures:
Railway length per 10,000 people: Japan 2.2 km, India 5.8 km, China 0.6 km
Average yearly trips per capita: Japan 171.3, India 46.9, China 0.9
Rail share of passenger transport: Japan 26.1%, France 9.5%, China 34.7%
Rail share of cargo transport: Japan 3.9%, France 13.1%, China 25.8 km
Or, in other words, China's long-distance railways are badly overloaded and China's short-distance (commuter) network is virtually nonexistent:
This low figure is believed due to the lack of development of urban railways in China, and the resident permit system, which has more or less prevented free travel. If the average number of journeys made per capita rises to the same levels seen in France or Germany, the total number of railway passengers will rise by a factor of 10 or more. ...
Statistics for 2000 show that China had 30 cities with a non-farming
population exceeding 1 million ... Only 10 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, currently have an urban railway (including monorails). The total length of urban lines operating in these 10 cities is just 585.6 km, with 115 km in Beijing and 145 km in Shanghai. This compares with about 2250 km of lines (including monorails and similar transport modes) within the Tokyo Megalopolis (50-km radius of Tokyo Station).
Not that they aren't trying to do something about it:
In an attempt to solve the problem of insufficient capacity,
China has built approximately 1000 km of lines every year (Fig. 3)—an extraordinary pace not seen anywhere else in the world. The 5-year plan calls for railways to be constructed at an even faster pace, with 17,000 km of new lines scheduled to be constructed during the term and 8,000 km of existing lines to be double-tracked and 15,000 km to be electrified. ...
Figure 4 shows dedicated high-speed passenger lines included in the long-term plan until 2020. The plan is magnificent, consisting of 11,940 km of lines on 8 routes: ... Among these 8 routes, a total of approximately 7000 km
of such lines are scheduled to be constructed and come into service by the end of 2010.
One thing the article doesn't explain is why Japan's freight market for rail is so small -- the reason is that the standard JR freight container is not compatible with the standard TEU used by everybody else in the world, so it's pretty much kneecapped to handling purely domestic cargo.
High-speed rail to connect Beijing, Shanghai by 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Reuters
BEIJING -- A high-speed rail line linking China's capital Beijing with financial center Shanghai is expected to be completed around 2013, the government said, cutting travel time by half.
The Ministry of Railways will finance 78.9 percent of the project, according to a bidding notice posted on the Web site of the ministry's engineering center seen on Saturday.
Trains on the 1,318-km (818-mile) line would run at speeds of up to 350 km per hour (220 mph), cutting travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to less than five hours from 10 currently.
The Cabinet's National Development and Reform Commission has approved the project, the notice read. Construction is due to be completed in five years.
The notice did not say how much the project would cost or identify the other investors.
The official China Daily quoted an unidentified source as saying the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Corp will have a registered capital of 115 billion yuan (US$15.54 billion) and that regional governments will most likely be the other investors.
The ministry's investment was raised to 78.9 percent from 35 percent because the country's banking regulator was against domestic commercial banks and an insurer taking stakes in the project, the newspaper said.
Domestic companies interested in civil engineering work or project supervision must submit submits to a preparatory office before Dec. 17, the China Daily said. Foreign engineering consultants must team up with two Chinese partners to submit bids.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2007/12/09/134167/High%2Dspeed%2Drail.htm
I seem to remember some very uncomplementary comments on this project by our resident China transport watchers - even that it had been mothballed!:
China rolls 1st home-grown bullet train off production line
Sunday, December 23, 2007
AFP
BEIJING -- China's first domestically developed high-speed bullet train, capable of reaching 300 kilometers (190 miles) per hour, rolled off the production line Saturday, state media reported.
"China has joined an elite world club after Japan, France and Germany, to become the fourth country capable of turning out such high speed trains," Wang Yongping, Ministry of Railways spokesman, told Xinhua news agency.
The streamlined train body, made of aluminum alloy, is the lightest of its kind in the world, Wang said.
The eight-carriage train can seat about 600 passengers and will start running the 115 kilometer-long Beijing-Tianjin route before the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, the report said.
It will cut travel time between the two cities to about 30 minutes from the current 80 minutes, Xinhua said.
The manufacturer, Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd., said the first batch of 10 such trains, with a speed equivalent to the Japanese bullet train, will be delivered in the first half of 2008.
Currently, the world's fastest train is France's TGV, which travels at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2007/12/23/136024/China%2Drolls.htm
jpatokal
24-12-07, 05:17 AM
I seem to remember some very uncomplementary comments on this project by our resident China transport watchers - even that it had been mothballed!:
No, this article is just cluelessly buying PRC spin. The "real" indigenous Chinese HSR, the China Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Star), is definitely as dead as a dodo. As this article (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-12/23/content_6341719.htm) makes clear, this supposedly "wholly indigenous" train is actually the CRH2-300, which is just a rebranded Japanese Shinkansen E2-1000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Railways_CRH2). The maximum speed does appear to have been increased from 250 km/h to 300 km/h... although the original Japanese E2-1000 is rated at 275 km/h in production and has done 362 km/h in testing.
jpatokal
15-01-08, 05:56 PM
It's been talked about for a very long time, but now it's time for action -- and the Chinese aren't wasting time anymore! Shanghai Daily (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200801/20080114/article_345192.htm), emphases mine:
Beijing-Shanghai rail link to start on Friday
CONSTRUCTION of the new Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is expected to start this Friday, railway planners announced, Beijing Times reported today.
Forty sites of the 220-billion-yuan (US$30.31 billion) project will begin construction on Friday, the report said.
The high-speed rail link, scheduled for completion in five years, will cut traveling time between Shanghai and the capital from 12 hours to less than five.
Trains will travel at up to 350 kilometers per hour on the 1,318-kilometer railway. Twenty-one stations will be established along the route, according to an earlier notice from the ministry. ...
The Shanghai terminal of the new railway will be built at the Hongqiao Transport Hub. The area which will serve as a transfer station for Hongqiao International Airport, a Maglev station, at least three Metro stations and several bus stations.
Wikipedia has a rudimentary article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing-Shanghai_Express_Railway), to which I'll add the list of stations as soon as I finish this.
Yappofloyd
26-01-08, 02:33 PM
Only 5 years to compelete a 1300km HSR project through an already dense traffic corridor - now that is very impressive. Given the huge growth of air travel between both cities this will come online at just the right time.
China train hits group of railway workers; 18 dead
Saturday, January 26, 2008
AP
BEIJING -- Eighteen workers were killed and another nine injured when a high-speed train ran into group of railway workers in eastern Shandong province, China's work safety watchdog said Friday.
The accident happened Wednesday night when the workers were working on railway tracks near Anqiu city, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a notice on its Web site.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the work was scheduled to start at 10 p.m. and that trains had been told to slow their speed to 45 kph (28 mph) from 9 p.m.
But the workers entered the work area at 8:40 p.m. and were hit by the train traveling at more than 120 kph (75 mph), it said.
Xinhua said the injured were in a hospital in stable condition.
The high-speed passenger train was traveling from Beijing to the port city of Qingdao in Shandong.
No reason was given why it took more than one day for news of the accident to be released.
The workers were from the China Railway 16th Group. An official at the publicity department of the group hung up after saying, "We have nothing to tell you."
The phone at the publicity department of work safety bureau rang unanswered.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2008/01/26/140625/China%2Dtrain.htm
.....
About 40,000 passengers, many of them travelling home for the Lunar New Year Festival in early February, were stranded at stations along the railway line from Beijing to the southern city of Guangzhou on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
A total of 136 electric passenger trains were stalled in central China's Hunan Province after snow damaged power lines. Diesel locomotives were being used to haul the electric trains out of the area as over 10,000 workers repaired the power lines.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2008/01/27/140733/Heavy%2Dsnow.htm
China's Premier inspects expressway, railway services
.....
BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Premier Wen Jiabao has urged all departments concerned to ensure a safe and smooth transportation during the traditional Chinese New Year holidays so that the people would enjoy a happy, peaceful and harmonious festival season.
Wen visited a service zone of an expressway and a railway station in Beijing on Friday and inspected the traffic situation before and during the Spring Festival holidays, the busiest travel season in the country.
The Spring Festival traffic season is 20 days ahead and 20 days after the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on February 7 this year. All kinds of traffic tools will be busy with shipping homebound passengers and food and major industrial goods like coal used for power plants.
Since January 12, rare snowfalls, the heaviest in decades for some central and southern provinces have further worsened the traffic tension in the country. Many expressways and airports have been closed, forcing many passengers to choose railways as their option.
During his visits, Wen had talks with some truck drivers, passengers and staff of the Zhuozhou Service Zone of the Beijing-Shijiazhuang Expressway, 60 kilometers southwest of the national capital, and the Beijing West Railway Station, one of the most bustling traffic hubs in the country.
The premier, who is also member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, thanked the drivers and highway and railway workers for their hard work during the season.
The State Council has decided to exempt all the tolls for vegetable-loading trucks when they go by the "Green Channel" highways linking to major cities, to curb market fluctuation, he said.
The Beijing West Railway Station, which is expected to see 22 million outgoing and incoming passengers during the Spring Festival transportation season, has opened 266 ticket windows.
The premier shook hands and talked with some passengers at waiting rooms in the railway station.
The Ministry of Railways recently estimated that railway passengers are likely to reach 178.6 million between January 23 and March 2. Migrant workers account for 70 percent of the railway passengers.
Wen had a meeting with some officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Railways, and urged these departments to ensure traffic safety for the railways, highways, aviation and waterways,
The premier also called for joint efforts by different departments to ensure the production, storage and transportation of coal for thermal power plants, so as to guarantee electricity supply for residents as well as important units, hospitals and schools. (Xinhua)
Today In Asia : Last Update : 08:49:42 27 January 2551 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=2504
Hundreds of police, soldiers control massive train station crowds in southern China
Monday, January 28, 2008
By WILLIAM FOREMAN, AP
GUANGZHOU, China -- Hundreds of police and soldiers were trying to control swelling crowds Monday at a major train station in southern China, where about 200,000 travelers were stranded by blizzards and ice storms that have created a transportation crisis during the nation's busiest travel time of the year.
The chaos might get worse as forecasters warned that new snowstorms and freezing rain could soon hit central and eastern China, putting more pressure on already strained transport, communications and power grids.
The freakish weather has already affected 67 million people, and the total economic loss was 18.2 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion; euro1.7 billion), the Civil Affairs Ministry said.
In the southern city of Guangzhou, a growing sea of stranded travelers - most migrant factory workers - filled up the huge plaza in front of the city's main train station. They eventually spilled out into a busy thoroughfare that had to be closed to give people space to camp out while they waited for trains in the city - the capital of booming Guangdong province.
Radio announcements urged people not to go to the station because most trains have been canceled and tickets were no longer being sold until Feb. 7, the start of Chinese New Year - the nation's biggest annual holiday.
The weather started wreaking havoc two weeks ago when sleet and snow storms began snapping power lines for scores of electric passenger trains in neighboring Hunan province - a midpoint for the busy rail line that runs from Guangzhou to Beijing. The ice storms also closed highways, and 24 deaths have been reported since the heavy snow began Jan. 10, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Officials in Guangzhou were scrambling to control the crowds and find temporary shelter for the migrant workers in schools and convention centers. Although it rarely snows here, Guangzhou was in the grips of a cold snap that was made worse by rain that has been soaking travelers.
Officials estimated 200,000 people were at the station Monday.
Police blew whistles and barked orders into bull horns as they tried to control the crowd. Soldiers stood guard at key spots around the station.
There was a threat protests or worse could be sparked by the workers, who already have a long list of grievances, such as rising living costs, poor working conditions and low salaries that often go unpaid.
"When large numbers of people are upset about the same problem at the same time, there is a risk of large scale collective action that could threaten Communist Party rule. Will the travelers blame the weather or the government?" said Susan Shirk, a China expert and professor at the University of California, San Diego.
So far, the scene in Guangzhou was relatively calm. Many of the workers were stoic or cheerful, accustomed to huge crowds, discomforts and long delays that are common in the lives of China's impoverished classes.
One young mother who would give only her surname, Yang, spent the night on the street in front of the train station with her 7-month-old daughter. The ground around her was littered with chicken bones, sunflower seed shells and cigarette butts.
Yang said her morning train was canceled, and she thought her only option was to cancel her holiday visit with her family in neighboring Jiangxi province. She said she would probably spend the holiday in her small apartment in nearby Foshan city, where she works in a factory that makes digital cameras.
"There's no reason to get upset about this or blame anyone," Yang said. "It's just the weather's fault."
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2008/01/28/140941/Hundreds%2Dof.htm
Yappofloyd
01-02-08, 05:44 PM
Storms expose fragility of China's rail networks By David Lague Thursday, January 31, 2008 IHT
BEIJING: Acute electricity shortages across a swath of central and southern China after winter blizzards disrupted coal deliveries have exposed the fragility of transport networks in the world's fastest growing major economy.
The snow and ice that have led to chaos at transport hubs as up to 200 million migrant workers and other travelers attempt to return home for the Lunar New Year festival next week have also restricted coal shipments along critical rail arteries feeding power stations in the southeast, China's densely populated manufacturing heartland.
Food prices are increasing in major cities including Beijing as distribution bottlenecks and bad weather hamper deliveries of vegetables and meat, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. These shortages are a reminder that China's huge, interconnected economy and its 1.3 billion people are increasingly vulnerable to even short-lived interruptions to the flow of goods and services.
In a sign of the governing Communist Party's nervousness about widespread resentment ahead of the country's most important holiday, senior leaders including Prime Minister Wen Jiabao have personally visited train stations to assure frustrated travelers that the authorities are working to solve the transport delays. The huge crowds waiting in freezing conditions at some railway stations in southern China began to clear Thursday, state media reported, as rail services to central and inland provinces became more frequent.
But electricity shortages were expected to continue after supplies were disrupted to 17 provinces, or about half the country, in recent weeks. Worst hit were the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Anhui and Jiangsu, where more than 30 million people were affected by blackouts or brownouts, according to government estimates. Steel and aluminum output is also expected to suffer, analysts said.
"I think the current weather-related problems have major ramifications for the manufacturing sector and therefore the economy, let alone the fact you have a lot of unhappy people," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with the energy consultancy Purvin & Gertz. "The issue of transport and distribution of energy is China is very serious," he said. China mined about 2.3 billion metric tons of coal last year, according to government statistics, and burning that fuel supplies more than 80 percent of the country's electricity.
Despite the health risks posed by severe air pollution in urban and industrial centers and international pressure on the Chinese government to reduce greenhouse emissions, most analysts expect China's coal consumption to increase for decades if rapid economic growth continues.
The bulk of this coal is mined in the western provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi and the northwestern region of Inner Mongolia. But many of the customers are clustered in the industrialized southeastern and central coastal provinces. That means most coal must be hauled long distances on China's vast but overextended rail network. More than 40 percent of rail capacity is devoted to transporting coal, and the authorities have been investing heavily in new lines and cargo-handling facilities in an attempt to keep up with demand.
Despite these efforts, China has suffered persistent power shortages in industrial centers for more than five years as electricity output failed to meet demand from a booming economy. Demand for electricity increased 14 percent last year, according to official estimates.
This problem became much worse when heavy snow and ice over the past two weeks cut power supplies to the rail networks in central China that carry the bulk of coal to power stations and damaged electricity grids. Some power stations in southern China were operating with only a few days' supplies of fuel in reserve, according to government officials.
Fuel stocks at power plants operated by the State Grid Corporation of China, which account for more than 10 percent of the country's installed generation capacity, had fallen to the lowest level ever, the official media reported, with the company ranking reserves at 85 of these stations as unacceptably low. The Railway Ministry warned this week that coal supplies could be further hit when some mines close over the Lunar New Year holiday.
In response, the authorities have diverted extra rolling stock to moving coal and sharply increased the volume shipped south by sea from the major northern port of Qinhuangdao. In a bid to limit shortages, the government last week ordered port authorities to halt coal exports for two months. While the weather has undoubtedly hurt coal supplies, some analysts have pointed out that government policy had contributed to the power shortages.
In a bid to contain rising inflation and avoid antagonizing consumers, the authorities have capped the prices utilities can charge for power at a time when coal prices have been soaring. Without the incentive of adequate profits, power produces have been reluctant to increase output, analysts say. "If there had not been this mismatch, power producers, particularly in Guangdong, might have been more aggressive in importing coal," Shum said.
China speeds up construction of railways linked to southern neighbours
BERNAMA
HANOI, Tues.:
Southwest China’s Yunnan province has speeded its pace to build four international railways linking Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand, the Vietnam news agency (VNA) reported today quoting the province’s Vice Governor Qin Guangrong.
Qin said that the four railways are significant to the transport and economic development of Yunnan province and three countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The rails linking Kunming, Yuxi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam have been under smooth construction, and are scheduled for completion in 2009.
He said that his province will strive to start construction this year for the railway in Mengzi in Yunnan to the Sino-Vietnamese border.
Meanwhile, the preparatory work of the China-Myanmar railway expansion project has been in full swing.
The preliminary work of building the Kunming-Bangkok railway has been launched, which will sharply improve the transport efficiency between the countries.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/NewsBreak/20080212114524/Article/index_html
Chinese railways carry 24 mln passengers during Spring Festival holiday
BEIJING, Feb 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese railways had carried 24.47million passengers during the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.
The figure was a bit smaller than 26 million-plus recorded during the same holiday last year, as rail transport in many parts of the country had been hampered by the worst winter storms in half a century.
However, passenger flow reached a historic high of 5.01 million on Feb. 12, the last day of the weeklong holiday, despite the storms which could have postponed rail trips of many people.
In the meantime, railways across the country transported 61.38 million tons of cargo in the seven days, 24 percent more than 49.34 million in the corresponding period last year, as the country geared up efforts to ensure transport of disaster-relief goods, especially shipment of power-use coal.
Chinese railways transported 43,000 shipments of power-use coal every day during the past week, up more than 50 percent year on year.
Reserves of coal for power generation increased 800,000 tons to 23.1 million tons on Sunday, equaling 12 days' supply for the country's power plants, an increment of four days' supply than on Feb. 1.
The railways also transported a total of 36,184 shipments of grain and other foodstuff during the Spring Festival holiday.
Meanwhile, the Chinese civil aviation administration said on Wednesday that domestic airlines operated 29,400 flights to carry 3.7 million passengers during the holiday, which were about the same number of passengers in the corresponding period last year.
Chinese travelers also made an estimated 235 million bus trips during the same holiday, the Ministry of Communications said on Tuesday, while another 6.15 million made water trips during the seven days.(Xinhua)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=2816
High-speed rail to cross Taiwan Strait?
By ZHANG QUANYI
Column: Global Survey
Published: February 15, 2008
SHANGHAI, China, Chinese media in January reported an ambitious plan to link mainland China and Taiwan by high-speed railway. It is the latest in a series of proposals to physically link the island with the mainland. The plan does not address the political obstacles -- presumably these will be dealt with on a parallel track while the railway is under construction.
The new initiative was exposed in a protocol signed between China's Ministry of Railways and the government of Fujian province. According to the signed protocol, the project is to get underway in 2008, with 1,900 kilometers of railway lines in place by 2020.
Much of this construction will take place within Fujian province, which lies along the Taiwan Strait facing Taiwan. Railway lines will connect the province's major cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou with one another, then head inland to the provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, A separate line will head to Guangdong province and the special economic zone of Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong.
When this high-speed railway project is finished, the whole of Fujian province will be conveniently connected to central and western China, as well as to the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas. It is expected to facilitate trade across southern China and to bring considerable economic benefit to Fujian.
The map of the planned railway includes an eventual extension to Taipei. If realized, it would enable Taiwanese travelers and business people to board a train in Taipei that would carry them as far as Beijing or Kunming.
The construction of the high-speed railway is not the first such initiative designed to cross the Taiwan Strait. In 2004 the Ministry of Communications published a plan for an express highway between Beijing and Taipei, to be completed by 2030. The Taiwan Strait would be crossed by an undersea tunnel.
The country's first undersea tunnel, nine kilometers in length, is currently being built in the coastal city of Xiamen, across the strait from Taiwan. The tunnel, which delves six kilometers below sea level, has been under construction since 2005 and is due for completion in 2010.
A tunnel bridging the Taiwan Strait would be much more ambitious, as it would have to traverse 150 kilometers.
In 2005 the government announced plans for five major undersea tunnels to be built in the next 20 to 30 years, including the one linking the mainland with Taiwan. The other four would connect Hong Kong with Macau or Zhuhai, Dalian withYantai, Shanghai with Ningbo, and Hainan Island with the mainland.
Political issues aside, China is planning its infrastructure development for the long term. It is hoping that continued economic development will lure the Taiwanese into an ever-closer economic relationship, leading eventually to reunification.
Since China initiated its open door policy in the late 1970s, the mainland and Taiwan economies have become increasingly interdependent. After both of them joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, economic ties have strengthened further.
However, despite closer economic engagement, political relations between Taiwan and the mainland have become increasingly strained, especially since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2000. Led by Chen Shui-bian, Taiwanese politicians have advocated an independent "Taiwan Republic," thereby challenging China's ambitions for reunification.
China has consistently proposed closer economic and transport links as a strategy to hold off Taiwan's moves toward independence. The railway and tunnel construction plans are merely an extension of this strategy -- and are based on the presumption of success.
China has effectively used its international influence to isolate Taiwan politically -- only 23 states now recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation thanks to China's aggressive diplomacy and insistence on a "one China" policy in all major international bodies. At the same time China has been equally aggressive in engaging Taiwan economically. In this carrot-and-stick approach, the high-speed railway is one of the carrots on offer.
Many Taiwanese, especially businessmen, oppose the DPP administration's policies and hope for better relations with the mainland. The growing dissatisfaction with the DPP was reflected in the party's huge losses in the recent legislative elections, and the party is very likely to lose in the March "presidential" election.
Regardless of which party wins in March, the future Taiwan government will likely distance itself from the Chen administration. Both the DPP candidate and that of the opposition Kuomintang have explicitly or implicitly expressed a willingness to engage China economically, seeing this as a clear benefit for the Taiwan people. If the pro-unification KMT wins the election, it will very likely introduce new cooperative polices toward the mainland.
It may take awhile for even the KMT to agree to the high-speed railway and tunnel plans. With a target completion date of 2030, however, the plans may not be at all unrealistic.
(Zhang Quanyi is an associate professor at the Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo, China, and a Ph.D. candidate at Shanghai International Studies University, studying policy making and collective identity. His research interests focus on conflict management and identity construction. He can be contacted at qyzhangupi@gmail.com.
http://www.upiasiaonline.com/Economics/2008/02/15/high-speed_rail_to_cross_taiwan_strait/1798/
No, this article is just cluelessly buying PRC spin. The "real" indigenous Chinese HSR, the China Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Star), is definitely as dead as a dodo. As this article (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-12/23/content_6341719.htm) makes clear, this supposedly "wholly indigenous" train is actually the CRH2-300, which is just a rebranded Japanese Shinkansen E2-1000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Railways_CRH2). The maximum speed does appear to have been increased from 250 km/h to 300 km/h... although the original Japanese E2-1000 is rated at 275 km/h in production and has done 362 km/h in testing.
Official: China-made bullet train to link Beijing, Tianjin in August
http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/3/11/business/b_14labourer.jpg
[Photo: Reuters - A labourer walks at the construction site of the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed passenger rail line in Tianjin municipality.]
BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The first China-made bullet train designed to run at 300 kilometers per hour has completed a test run and will be in service between Beijing and Tianjin in early August, a railway official said on Sunday.
"A train prototype rolled off the production line in December and has completed a test run," said Shao Liping, director of the railway authority in Nanning, capital of the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The new train is expected to be running along a 117-km intercity railway beginning Aug. 1, a week before the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games.
It will reduce the travel time between Beijing and Tianjin to around 30 minutes from the current 70 to 80 minutes, said Shao on the sidelines of the annual session of China's parliament.
Shao said the train, the latest model in the China Railway High-speed (CRH) Series, will be produced jointly by manufacturers in Qingdao of the eastern Shandong Province, and Tangshan of the northern Hebei Province.
In the meantime, Shao said Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Railways are carrying out research on a 350-km-per-hour train for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway that has been under discussion for years.
At present, China's fastest self-developed trains run at a service speed up to 250 km per hour. Those trains, which debuted last April, link Beijing with Harbin, Shanghai and Guangzhou. (Xinhua)
Today In Asia : Last Update : 06:43:36 10 March 2008 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=3191
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=3191
China unveils first domestic built bullet train
11/04/2008 -- 5:12 PM
Beijing (VNA) – China unveiled on April 11 its first domestically produced train capable of reaching 350km per hour.
The train was built in the northern city of Tangshan by the China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.
As the latest model in the China Railway High-speed series, the train’s streamlined body is made of light aluminium alloy and can seat 557 passengers.
The train will shorten the journey time on the 120km Beijing-Tianjin route from the current 80 minutes to half an hour, according to Xinhua.
The train is the first of three to begin service on the route before the Olympics begin in August. An additional 54 trains are expected to be in commercial operation by the end of 2009.
China announced their plan to build the bullet trains in December 2007, becoming the fourth country - after France, Germany and Japan - capable of making such high speed trains, said the Ministry of Railways. –Enditem
http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/244764/Default.aspx
jpatokal
12-04-08, 11:33 AM
China announced their plan to build the bullet trains in December 2007, becoming the fourth country - after France, Germany and Japan - capable of making such high speed trains, said the Ministry of Railways. –Enditem
Tell that to the Italians, the Spanish and the South Koreans :mad:
Yappofloyd
12-04-08, 12:00 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GWR
China announced their plan to build the bullet trains in December 2007, becoming the fourth country - after France, Germany and Japan - capable of making such high speed trains, said the Ministry of Railways. –Enditem
Tell that to the Italians, the Spanish and the South Koreans
VNA is not regarded as being that accurate in their pieces but perhaps they are a tad better than the Chinese govt media as current events graphically highlight!
April 12, 2008 19:39 PM
Four Dead, One Missing In Central China Tunnel Flood
WUHAN, April 12 (Bernama) -- Four people were confirmed dead and one missing in a flooded railway tunnel in central China's Hubei Province Saturday, China's news agency Xinhua reported.
The flooding occurred On a rainy Friday afternoon in the Maluqing rail tunnel of the Yiwan Railway in Enshi Tujia, Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
More than 100,000 cubic meters of water poured into the 7,879-meter tunnel when five workers were repairing equipment near its entrance. One died on the spot and the bodies of the other three were discovered on Saturday, rescuers said.
On Friday, the rainfall in the area reached more than 60 millimeters, according to local authorities.
The rescue efforts are ongoing and an investigation into the cause of the accident was underway.
The tunnel is considered one of the most dangerous passages along the under-construction Yiwan Railway. It links Yichang City in Hubei Province with Wanzhou, Chongqing Municipality.
The 377-kilometer railway is set to begin operation late next year.
-- BERNAMA
Non-specific link:
http://www.bernama.com.my/
See also video:
http://www.axilltv.com/bkpostvideos.php?fileid=3841&cat=1
Train collision kills at least 70, injures hundreds
JINAN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A high-speed passenger train jumped the track in the eastern province of Shandong early on Monday, striking another train and leaving 70 dead and 416 injured, railway authorities confirmed.
Preliminary investigations suggested the accident was caused by human error. Authorities have ruled out the possibility of terrorism.
The casualties were from both trains, one of which was en route from Beijing to Qingdao, a famous summer resort in Shandong and venue of the Olympic sailing competition. The other was traveling from Yantai, Shandong to Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province.
The high-speed train from Beijing, coded T195, derailed in the city of Zibo at about 4:40 a.m. and smashed into train 5034. The second train also left the tracks. At least 12 cars from both trains derailed.
No foreign citizens were killed in the accident, which occurred just before the May Day national holiday passenger rush. However, four French nationals were hospitalized with bone fractures. They were identified as 54-year-old Pascal Boisson, his 14-year-old son Pierre Emmanuel Boisson, 22-year-old daughter Joanne Boisson, and his girlfriend Robin Naurence, 42.
Joanne Boisson, who sustained minor back injuries, politely declined Xinhua's request for an interview. "I'm not feeling well. I'm on my way to see my younger brother at a separate hospital," she said over the phone.
Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, who was overseeing rescue work at the site, visited Zibo Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital where Joanne and her father were being treated on Monday afternoon.
The hospital had received 21 injured passengers so far and more were expected, said Zhang Jun, head of the orthopedics department.
The youngest patient was a 3-and-a-half-year-old boy, Liu Jinhang, from Qingdao. (Xinhua)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=4013
See also video:
http://www.axilltv.com/bkpostvideos.php?fileid=3841&cat=1
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=4013
Railway reopens to traffic after fatal accident
ZHOUCUN, Shandong, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Qingdao-Jinan Railway reopened to traffic at 2:16 Tuesday morning after more than 20 hours of interruption caused by train collision that kills 70 people.
At 2:16 a.m., a cargo train of 1,185 metric tons rolled over the repaired section at Zibo of east China's Shandong Province, followed by passenger train T196 at 2:41 a.m.
A high-speed passenger train jumped the track here on Monday morning, striking another train and leaving 70 dead and 416 injured. (Xinhua)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=4024
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=4024
Two articles below:
http://www.axilltv.com/axvideo/DAS/photos/0408/789a4971-8f2d-4a0b-b082-3c2255d40a89@news.ap.org.jpg
[Photo: Bangkok Post]
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
China says investigation shows speeding caused train collision that killed 70
By ANITA CHANG, AP
ZIBO, China -- Speeding was blamed Tuesday for causing China's worst train accident in a decade that killed at least 70 people and injured more than 400.
The finding was delivered by an investigation panel set up by China's Cabinet, the State Council, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It came just a little more than 24 hours after two trains collided in Shandong province in eastern China.
The investigation showed a Beijing to Qingdao passenger train was traveling at 131 kilometers per hour (81 miles per hour) before the accident - far over the section's speed limit of 80 kph (50 mph), Xinhua said.
The train jumped its tracks and collided with an oncoming passenger train on another track. The government has already sacked two railway officials over the accident. Xinhua did not say if the engineers of the trains had survived the crash, or if they were being held as part of the investigation.
Work crews using heavy cranes have already cleared the tracks of damaged rail cars, with the line reopening to traffic early Tuesday.
Seventy of the 416 people injured in the crash were in critical condition in hospital, according to Xinhua. No foreigners were among the dead. Injured survivors included four French nationals, a Chinese national sailing team coach and a 3-year-old boy.
One middle-aged woman said she was lucky she was awake when the accident happened.
"I was awake, I just got back from using the bathroom," said the woman, who would not give her name because her relatives did not know she was hurt.
"People who were sleeping, they got crushed to death and wouldn't even know it," she said at the Zibo Central Hospital.
The woman, who had layers of gauze wrapped around her permed hair, said the crash lasted about one minute. "I crawled out of a window. Anywhere there was space to get out, people were trying to get out," she said.
A 12-year-old at the same hospital, lay on a bed in the hallway cuddling a stuffed toy dog.
"I was sleeping so I don't remember much. I don't even know how I got here," said the boy, who had a broken leg. He then fell asleep before he could answer any other questions.
About 1,000 soldiers and armed police were sent to the crash site to seal it off and help with the rescue work, Xinhua said.
Trains are the most popular way to travel in China, and the country's overloaded rail network carried 1.36 billion passengers last year. While accidents are rare, the government is trying to extend and upgrade the state-run rail network and introduce more high-speed trains.
The crash just before the May Day weekend holiday. When the train to Qingdao - site of the sailing competition during the Summer Olympics - nine of its carriages were knocked into a dirt ditch, Railway Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said in a statement.
The second train, on its way from Yantai in Shandong to Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu province, was knocked off its tracks although it stayed upright. News photos showed several of its carriages sitting across the train tracks just outside the city of Zibo in central Shandong.
Xinhua said both the director of the Railway Bureau in Jinan, the provincial capital and nearest big city, and the bureau's Communist Party Secretary, were sacked after the crash, and they face an investigation by the Ministry of Railways.
It was the second major railway accident in Shandong this year. In January, 18 people died when a train hurtling through the night at more than 120 kph (75 mph) slammed into a group of about 100 workers carrying out track maintenance near the city of Anqiu.
The accident was the worst train crash in China since 1997, when another collision killed 126 people.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/local%20news/other/2008/04/29/154180/China%2Dsays.htm
Report: Train in deadly China crash wasn't clearly told to slow for construction work
By ANITA CHANG,
Associated Press Writer.
The operators of a speeding Chinese train that derailed and collided with another train had not been clearly instructed to slow down for construction in the area, a state news agency reported Wednesday.
The crash was China's worst rail accident in a decade, with a death toll that rose to 71 Wednesday. Most of the 416 injured passengers were still hospitalized following the collision Monday, including 60 who remained in critical condition, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
An order had been issued on the day of the accident to reduce speed to 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour in the area because of construction of a new rail line, Xinhua said.
A government investigative panel has said the train was traveling at 131 kph (81 mph), and blamed excessive speed for the crash in Zibo, a dusty town in eastern China's Shandong province.
Instructions to slow down were not clearly relayed to the train's operators, nor were they communicated by staff at a station the train passed through shortly before the crash, Xinhua said.
"Drivers of the train were therefore not looking out, and lost their last opportunity to avoid the crash," the report said.
Li Chenggang, spokesman for the Zibo city government, said the new line runs parallel to the existing railway and links the provincial capital of Jinan to the coastal city of Qingdao _ site of the sailing competition in this summer's Olympic Games.
It was not clear how the construction affected the existing rail line or whether the work had anything to do with the derailment. Li referred further questions to the Jinan Railway Bureau, where phones rang unanswered Wednesday afternoon.
The head of China's Administration of Work Safety, Wang Jun, was quoted as saying by Xinhua that the investigation should focus on several factors, including the condition of the rail line, the stability of the track and whether railway officials correctly relayed instructions.
Three railway officials were sacked following the accident, in which nine carriages from the first train tumbled into a dirt ditch after colliding with an oncoming train on another track.
The second train stayed upright but was knocked askew on the tracks.
Many of the passengers were sleeping at the time of the accident, and some had to be pulled out through the windows of the mangled carriages.
The accident happened just before the May Day long weekend holiday, when millions of Chinese travel by train. Hundreds of workers labored through the night to restore rail service after the crash.
Officials have not said whether the drivers of the trains survived or if they were being held as part of the investigation.
The accident was the worst train crash in China since 1997, when another collision killed 126 people.
http://www.axilltv.com/bkpost-2.php?newsid=319359
China strengthens supervision on traffic safety after train crash
BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- China's State Administration of Work Safety urged local authorities to their strengthen supervision on traffic safety on Thursday following a catastrophic train crash earlier this week.
Local safety watchdogs must learn lessons from the deadly collision on Monday and reinforce inspection and maintenance of trains, rail lines and other rail facilities, said director Wang Jun during a video conference.
He asked measures be taken to ensure safety at crossings and high-speed sections of the rail lines.
A high-speed train traveling from Beijing to the coastal city of Qingdao derailed and crashed into another train in the eastern Shandong Province on Monday, killing 71 and injuring 416.
A preliminary investigations revealed the Beijing train was running at 131 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident, while the speed limit of that section was 80 kph.
Wang said safety should also be improved on highways, especially for rural areas and school buses.
He criticized the lack of enthusiasm and work inefficiency of some local officials and enterprises in a national inspection on work safety launched late last month.
Official statistics show 35.3 percent more people died in "serious" land traffic accidents (with a death toll between 10 and29) in the country in the first four months, compared with the same period last year. The total number of deaths for all accidents on land, however, dropped 13.2 percent.
The General Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a circular on Wednesday, calling for "more resolute and powerful" measures to effectively curb serious accidents at mines, fireworks plants and chemical factories, as well as in traffic. (Xinhua)
Today In Asia : Last Update : 08:42:50 2 May 2008 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=4073
jpatokal
02-05-08, 05:48 PM
Hong Kong's Executive Council has approved financing for building a real high-speed link (250+ km/h) between Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. This involves building 26 km of underground in central HK at a cost of HK$50 billion, and as you'd expect this bit of the plan has been fairly controversial, as they opted not to just recycle the existing West Line track that parallels most of the way. Skyscrapercity has a good thread:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=506183
Official MTR project page (http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/projects/future_gz_sz_hk_intro.html), including this nice summary map:
http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/projects/images/xrl_map.jpg
May 13, 2008 09:59 AM
Cargo Train Derails In NW China After Earthquake
WUDU, May 13 (Bernama) -- A cargo train derailed and caught on fire on Monday night in northwest China's Gansu Province after the rail was distorted by landslide caused by the Sichuan earthquake, Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying Tuesday morning.
The 40-carriage train, carrying 13 petrol tanks, derailed in Huixian County, Gansu Province, along the Baoji-Chengdu line. The locomotive caught fire first, then the 13 oil tanks buried by rocks were also ablaze, said a spokesman with the Longnan municipal government.
The line was closed after the accident.
The train's two drivers were injured and have been sent to hospital. More than 900 people living nearby were evacuated.
The train was still burning at 5 a.m. Tuesday and the oil tanks were likely to explode, forcing the withdrawal of fire fighters to six kilometer away.
-- BERNAMA
Non-specific link:
http://www.bernama.com.my/
Non-specific link:
http://www.bernama.com.my/
This report suggests that the freight train fire of the previous post was actually the result of some sort of tunnel collapse - rather than just a landslide:
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Rail traffic through most of Sichuan resumed
Reuters
BEIJING -- China has resumed rail traffic between quake-hit Sichuan and other provinces, except on one major line where a tunnel collapsed.
Monday's 7.9 magnitude tremor killed around 12,000 people and flattened many buildings near the epicenter.
The State Administration of Work Safety called for coal mines, oilfields and chemical plants in quake-affected areas to halt operations as they checked for damage, although officials at major coal exporters said there was little impact on mining or logistics.
Rail services out of the provincial capital Chengdu to Baoji, a major hub in Shaanxi province, were suspended when a tunnel collapsed, setting fire to a freight train carrying gasoline, Xinhua news agency said.
The quake also damaged bridges on the Baoji-Chengdu line and cut power to 13 stations.
Passenger trains bound south from Baoji have been held back at Xi'an, an official with the Xi'an railway bureau told Reuters.
"Those are very steep grades and there are a lot of tunnels once you get past Baoji on the way to Chengdu," said a businessman whose company supplies the Chinese rail network.
"I would expect them to be concerned about the integrity of the tunnels and I don't know how long it would take, although they continually surprise me with their efficiency."
Xinhua said 187 trains carrying relief materials, including 50,000 tents and one fuel train, would head to affected areas. The ministry will also deploy an additional 1,400 trains for disaster relief, it said.
In Datong, the coal heartland of Shanxi Province, underground work was stopped temporarily but has since resumed with no disruption to rail transport, an official said.
Roads into the worst-affected regions north of Chengdu are cut off by numerous landslides, while heavy rain is also impeding the arrival of outside rescuers and supplies.
Sichuan itself produces about 3 percent of China's coal, but almost all of that is consumed within the province.
Transport between northwest China and central China along the Gansu corridor was not affected, said a railway official in Gansu's capital, Lanzhou.
An official at Panzhihua Iron and Steel, China's 11th largest steel maker in southwestern Sichuan province, said he did not expect the earthquake to hinder shipments.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national%20news/2008/05/14/156342/Rail%2Dtraffic.htm
This report suggests that the freight train fire of the previous post was actually the result of some sort of tunnel collapse - rather than just a landslide:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national%20news/2008/05/14/156342/Rail%2Dtraffic.htm
2008/05/24
China quake: Quake-damaged railway reopens to traffic
BERNAMA
CHENGDU (China), Sat.:
The whole line of quake-damaged Baoji-Chengdu railway reopened to traffic today after 283 hours of closure, allowing batch transport of disaster relief goods to China’s quake-hit Sichuan Province, XINHUA reports.
No. 977 train carrying urgently needed relief goods of tents and medicines passed through the railway’s No. 109 tunnel at 9:53am today, where a 40-car freight train derailed and was trapped, paralyzing the railway in the May 12 earthquake.
The railway, linking Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan, with Baoji city in neighboring Shaanxi Province, is a key north-south route in west China.
The southern section of the railway reopened on yesterday after workers finished repairs on a key bridge that was damaged by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in Wenchuan County, Sichuan.
While, the northern part of the railway remained blocked due to the difficulties in pulling the derailed wagons, which carried gasoline, from the damaged tunnel.
For the past 12 days of quake rescue operation, rescuers and relief goods had been transported into the mountainous quake zone by airlift or through frequently disrupted road links, because of the closure of the damaged railway.
More than 2,200 railway workers, armymen and policemen risked their lives and worked round-the-clock to the emergency repair of the Baoji-Chengdu railway, which was reopened seven days earlier than the repair plan, according to railway officials in charge of the work.
Lu Chunfang, vice minister of railways and commander of the repair operation shed tears at the reopening of the tunnel.
“We stressed the importance of safety work. However, we all knew the work was extremely dangerous,” he said.
He said one railway worker died and many workers were injured in the repair work.
The repair worker named Huang Junke was killed by a falling mountain rock, which hit his head.
Huang was a 37-year-old worker from the China Railway Electrification Group.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/NewsBreak/20080524124407/Article/index_html
On a roll
A three-day adventure on train from Beijing via Ulan Bator to Siberia and all the way to Moscow
PEERAWAT JARIYASOMBAT
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Horizons/120608_h06.jpg
[All Images: Bangkok Post]
It was a bit of everything: boring, exciting and unpredictable, this journey on the Trans Siberian railway that cuts through three countries and eight time zones for a distance of 9,288 kilometres, traversing great plains, a barren desert and lush mountain scenery also the Sino-Russian border.
For me, the journey began in the Chinese capital of Beijing. Arriving at the railway station with my luggage in tow, the place was teeming with travellers queuing up in long lines waiting to go through the X-ray scanner.
Would I make it? A sense of insecurity took over as my attention kept returning to the long line of passengers ahead of me. When my turn came I let out a huge sigh of relief, collected my ticket and rushed past merchants, porters and passengers to the platform where my Chinese guide pointed to me the train I would be boarding.
The train with dark green carriages was devoid of signs in English - just Chinese, Mongolian and Russian - and since I was boarding it in Beijing, I assumed it must have read "Beijing-Ulan Bator-Moscow". Immediately I hopped on the train noted for its punctuality.
The Trans Siberian line is the world's longest railroad connecting Moscow and Vladivostok. My journey would take me from Beijing via Mongolia to Siberia in eastern Russia where we would be joining the main route.
My carriage was not bad indeed if you compare it with trains in Thailand. It was neat and clean. I was booked in a second-class four-berth compartment, each bunk with a fan, reading light and a small desk. Not long after I had hauled my luggage on board the train departed, right on time.
From the train Beijing looked busy in stark contrast to the peace and calm of our compartment that gradually turned dull and finally boring as we drifted farther from the city. Tourists attuned to city life - of television, Internet and other comforts - would surely be hard pressed finding a way to kill boredom under the circumstances if they're not carrying a book or MP3 player.
I spent the afternoon yawning as the train drifted deeper into the countryside but my friend did better - he stole a few winks - because the barren plantations and dry mountainous landscape did nothing to lift the mood, and it remained that way until I heard somebody yell, "The Great Wall!"
Looking out the window I could see the crumbling ruins of the Great Wall and its guard posts, built by former Chinese emperors to ward off Mongolian invaders, in the distance.
The Wall and the falling ruins were a sure sign we were approaching Inner Mongolia. Next, the train traversed a stretch of the Gobi Desert that straddles Mongolia and China, and again there wasn't much to see or admire - just sand, sun and swirling dust.
There was some excitement at dusk when the train reached Erlian, a lively border town, where Chinese immigration officers came on board to collect our passports, after which we were instructed to proceed to a building. Immigration formalities, I told myself.
Most passengers, however, seemed to care little about immigration formalities for they headed straight to a supermarket in the building to stock up essentials such as rice, snacks, vegetable oil, instant noodle, beer and fruit etc. Everybody shopped like crazy as goods here were much cheaper than on other side of the border.
Returning from immigration I froze in my tracks, shocked that my train was rolling out of the platform, with myself without even a semblance of a chance of covering my ground. The gap kept widening as I stood watching, helplessly. A sense of panic set in. What next? I didn't entertain the idea of spending a night lost in an alien land.
My frayed nerves were calmed by a station officer who explained that the train had gone to get its suspensions changed and it would be back inside two hours because Mongolian railway runs on narrow gauge while the track in China is broad gauge.
He advised me stay calm and wait. When the train was back those who had chosen to stay on board recounted that it had visited a railway yard where all the carriages (some 20 of them) were lifted one by one, during which passengers were airborne, while its suspensions and cables were replaced.
"It was bit like a ride in amusement park," recalled one passenger. The returning train came with another change as well, its Chinese dining car was replaced by one with Mongolian menu and decor, and I looked forward to it because the food so far had been bland.
It was about noon when I went to the car for a meal only to be told by the attending officer that they were closed from noon to 2pm for staff lunch. I returned shortly after 2pm and found the dining car beautifully done, its ceiling and walls adorned with fine carved wood more fitting of a luxurious resort.
Like a luxurious resort, it was pricey. My friend ordered beef steak which set him back 400 baht, while my small beer cost around 140 baht, a sharp rise from the 13 baht or 2.50 yuan I had paid for the last one at the Chinese border. But the food was indeed more delicious, complementing the picture-perfect scenery we admired watching out the window.
Approaching Ulan Bator, as the train snaked past mountains and valleys, the natural landscape got better and better, dotted with tents that Mongolians call ger with cattle grazing leisurely while roaming the prairies.
Capital Ulan Bator proved even more unpridictable. I had assumed it to be a quiet town of nomads, but I found it vibrant complete with hustle and bustle of a modern city full of tall buildings and busy traffic.
Leaving the capital, the view was much more beautiful as the train weaved its way through a lush valley nourished by a stream around which were pitched tents, while villagers guarded their livestock riding horses.
Braving cold breeze, I moved from one window to another to get the best angle for my camera. The pictures tell me I should return to this timeless land and spend a few nights experiencing the nomadic lifestyle, living in tents and riding horses.
It was around midnight that we hit the Russian border where the train stopped four painful hours during which we subjected to all sorts of customs and immigration hassles before receiving the clearance to enter Russia.
Russian officers checked every nook and cranny, waking passengers up to look into every piece of baggage and locked them out of toilets while the train was in transit, denying them the chance to even answer nature's call. The toilets opened directly to the railway track underneath; they apparently felt at pains dealing with the mess left by transiting tourists. So did the passengers that night, holding their bladders in Siberia's freezing temperature.
But we kept our cool and the following morning were rewarded with a wonderful view of Siberia and its snowcapped mountains rising to serenade Baikal Lake, the world's deepest freshwater lake.
I disembarked at Irkutsk, Siberia's capital, and felt glad to be back on land. Then followed a sightseeing tour, after which I took a six-hour flight to Moscow.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Horizons/120608_h05.jpg
[Elegant and expensive, best describes the Mongolian dining car.]
MORE INFO
Thai Airways International operates regular flights from Bangkok to Beijing and Moscow. Tourists can begin the journey in Beijing and end it in Moscow or vice versa. For flight schedule, visit http://www.thaiairways.com/
Global Union Express (02-308-2104, http://www.guetravel.com) specialises in Russian destinations. It soon plans to launch package tours between Beijing and Moscow.
Thai tourists require visa to enter China, but not to Mongolia and Russia. The train plying the Trans-Siberian route is quite convenient, although you can't say the same about the toilets on board, which are rather small and cramped for space. Water flowing out of the taps on board does not leave you room for a shower. Every car is equipped with a boiler. It is advisable to carry your own coffee and instant noodle as food on the train is rather expensive.
There is a socket in every carriage for passenger to plug in your electrical devices.
Signs on the train are marked in Chinese, Mongolian and Russia, but most staff speak some English.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Horizons/12Jun2008_hori001.php
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Railway frame collapse kills 7 in east China
AFP
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news_images/20080622/p11d.jpg
[Photo: The China Post - Rescue workers search for trapped victims after a steel structure which was under construction on the Wenzhou-Fuzhou Railway collapsed and hit nearby houses, burying more than 10 people in Wenzhou, eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, on Saturday. Local media reported at least seven people were killed and another 21 injured.(AP)]
BEIJING -- At least seven people were killed Saturday after the steel structure of a railway under construction collapsed in east China, burying three houses and injuring 21, state media reported.
The structure hit three houses, burying 28 people, Xinhua news agency reported.
More than 450 police and firefighters rushed to the scene in Wenzhou city in Zhejiang province, according to a report posted on a local news Web site.
The reason for the collapse of the steel structure was unknown, but old or poorly built infrastructure is rife in China.
Last August, a new bridge in central China collapsed and killed 41 people.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national%20news/2008/06/22/162173/Railway%2Dframe.htm
See also today's previous post about the collapse of an under-construction railway viaduct
It's been talked about for a very long time, but now it's time for action -- and the Chinese aren't wasting time anymore! Shanghai Daily (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200801/20080114/article_345192.htm), emphases mine:
Wikipedia has a rudimentary article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing-Shanghai_Express_Railway), to which I'll add the list of stations as soon as I finish this.
Insurers to invest US$ 2.35 bln in express railway
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-21 18:44
BEIJING - Four of China's insurance companies have been given green light by the country's insurance regulator to invest 16 billion yuan (2.35 billion USD) in the Beijing-Shanghai express railway.
Sources from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said that four asset management companies under the Ping'an Insurance, Pacific Insurance, Taikang Life and Taiping Life will jointly set up a Beijing-Shanghai express railway equity investment project to raise the planned amount of capital.
In addition to the four insurers, the China Reinsurance (Group) Company, Generali China Life Insurance Company and PICC will also act as partakers and beneficiaries of the project, with the China Construction Bank as the trustee and the China Development Bank as an independent supervisor.
The CIRC demanded all parties involved in the project to strictly abide by related laws and regulations and prevent credit, operation, moral and legal risks. It also requested the project to submit timely report on its operation or events of significance.
On December 27, 2007, the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway Co. Ltd was unveiled in Beijing for the construction of the 1,318-km high-speed railway between China's top two cities.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-06/21/content_6784358.htm
http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/244764/Default.aspx
Bullet trains to shuttle between Beijing and Tianjin
BEIJING, July 2 -- China's first inter-city express railway will undergo a one-month trial from July 1 on the route line Beijing and Tianjin, the Ministry of Railway said in Beijing on Monday.
The Beijing-Tianjin express railway is the country's first self-developed express railway, with a designed speed exceeding 300 kilometers per hour. The 115 km journey would only take 27 minutes.
The trial, to be run without passengers, would include spot repairs, train management system control, cleaning and catering services.
From July 1 to 10, three pairs of trains will run the route to collect data such as departure and arrival times, said a ministry statement.
In the next 10 days, four pairs of trains will run continuously at five-minute intervals while simulating emergency situations, such as power failures, communication signal blackouts, equipment errors and bad weather.
The last 10 days, four pairs of trains would run the route at five minutes intervals to ensure coordination of all departments.
The express service is scheduled to begin on August 1. (Xinhua)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=5031
High-speed railway ready to roll
[ 2008-07-24 13:34 ]
China is set to enter the high-speed railway club, with its first 350kmh-passenger train traveling between Beijing and Tianjin scheduled for launch on August 1st.
The new service is expected to cut travel time for the 120-km route by half, making the ride less than 30 minutes.
"From now on, China will possess one of the world's fastest high-speed rail services," said Zhang Shuguang, deputy chief engineer of the Ministry of Railways.
In comparison, high-speed trains in Spain and Japan run at 320kmh, while those in France, Germany and Italy travel at 300kmh, Zhang said.
And for the passengers who were invited to experience the service during a trial, riding the trains was "just as comfortable" as being on slower ones.
Sitting in one of the swivel seats on board a sleek carriage of the new service, Beijinger Zhang Tao said she did not feel dizzy or uncomfortable.
The pleasant interior of the carriage, similar to a passenger aircraft's, helped.
"I didn't even notice that the train was already going that fast, until somebody announced the speed of 350 kmh about 10 minutes after the train left the railway station," she said."If there was any detectable difference, it would be that the cars running on the freeways beside the railway looked even slower."
With traveling time between the two cities shortened by the new rail, many couples who cannot afford apartments in the capital can now consider those in Tianjin.
"Young people may think about working in Beijing and living in Tianjin, because commuting between the capital and Tianjin will soon be as easy as taking the bus," said Zhang Shuguang.
As for the ticket price of the new service, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) yesterday said the rail company will decide on one for the year-long trial, after which the final price will be announced following legal procedures.
Zhang said a first-class ticket for the trip will be about 70 yuan ($10) and a second-class one, 60 yuan.
The NDRC also said that other rail services between Beijing and Tianjin should not be reduced, to keep up with various demands of commuters.
For the Chinese engineers behind the new rail, rolling out the transport marvel goes beyond the basic requirements of speed, comfort and convenience.
"To provide the high-speed rail service, we have had to conquer at least three obstacles," the ministry's Zhang Shuguang said.
The trains' operation control system is one of the core technologies that needs mastering, he said.
Its difficulty lies in getting the trains to keep a safe distance between one another and preventing them from colliding with each other or slower trains -- a challenge that may not seem like a big one for slower rail, he said.
"Trains running at 350kmh can equal the speed of airplanes taking off, or at 100m per second," Zhang said.
Only four countries have mastered such technology, he said.
Such expertise has made it possible for the 350-kmh trains to leave the railway station every five minutes during peak hours, and every 10 minutes during non-peak hours, Zhang said.
The second core technology is in synthesizing up to seven rail coordination systems, each with up to 70,000 parts, and making them work as one to maintain track performance, he said. It is something China has also acquired on its own after years of research and experience, he said.
The third core technology of high-speed railways involves the design and manufacture of high-speed trains themselves.
"When a train runs at 350kmh, it will produce an environment of 'negative air pressure.' Designing the high-speed train's air-conditioning system becomes a difficult task, because the train can draw objects into the carriage through any opening, like a big vacuum," he said.
The authorities chose to cooperate with foreign companies that had the necessary expertise, like Germany-based Siemens, to meet such challenges. Under a joint project between the Tangshan Railway Transportation Equipment Company and Siemens, Chinese engineers completed the requisite designs and submitted it to Siemens, who were involved in the industrial certification of the project, Zhang said.
The final product, the CRH-3 (China Railway High-speed) train, is unique to China.
"The entire design is made to suit our needs. As agreed, we own the intellectual property rights of this type of high-speed train," the ministry's Zhang Shuguang said.
Except for three trains manufactured in Germany, the other 57 trains were all produced locally, in Tangshan. Each costs 200 million yuan, Zhang said.
The trains on the Beijing-Tianjin line are also upgrades carried out by Chinese engineers based on the 200-250kmh bullet trains, under a cooperation program between China and Japan.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/cdaudio/2008-07/24/content_6873756.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/cdaudio/2008-07/24/content_6873756.htm
July 31, 2008 20:43 PM
Beijing-Tianjin Railway Starts Ticket Sales For Friday Debut
BEIJING, July 31 (Bernama) -- Rail fans and passengers queued up on Thursday morning to buy tickets for Friday's debut of the world's fastest intercity rail line linking Beijing with Olympic co-host city Tianjin.
Tickets were available at the Beijing Railway Station, the Beijing West Railway Station and other ticket outlets. But at the Beijing South Railway Station, where the first train would leave from, ticket sales were expected to start later on Thursday, station staff told Xinhua news agency.
The Ministry of Railways (MOR) announced on Wednesday this ultra-modern line would go into service on Aug. 1, one week before the Games begin.
The first train would leave the Beijing South Railway Station at about 11 a.m. after an official launch ceremony, the Beijing Times reported.
After regular service begins on Aug. 2, the first train would leave Beijing for Tianjin at 6:15 a.m., according to a time schedule provided by the Beijing South Railway Station. Twenty minutes later, another train would leave the Tianjin Station for Beijing.
The final train would leave Beijing for Tianjin at 10:10 p.m. while in Tianjin, the final train would depart at 10:06. During regular services, there would be 47 pairs of trains every day. Trains bound for Tianjin would leave at various intervals of 15, 20 and 30 minutes.
A first-class ticket costs 69 yuan while the price for a second-class ticket is 58 yuan, Vice Railway Minister Wang Zhiguo told a press conference. Fares would be unchanged in the first year of operation.
The line would be the world's only line on which passenger trains could run at 350 km per hour, Wang said. It would also be the first high-speed intercity rail line in China.
The railway, on which construction started in July 2005, was built at a total cost of 21.5 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion), said Wang.
About 100 km of the line, or 86 percent, was built on an elevated alignment because of the area's alluvial soil, which was sensitive to ground settlement.
The new service would cut the 120-km journey from the current 70 minutes to about 30 minutes, according to Wang.
There are five stations along the line: the cavernous new Beijing South Railway Station, Yizhuang, Yongle, Wuqing and Tianjin.
The train is classifed by the MOR as C-category, with C stands for Chengji, meaning intercity.
There will be 10 trains of eight cars that can seat about 600 passengers. These sleek trains, with aircraft-like cabins, swivel seats, spacious interiors and rooftop solar panels, were built by the Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company.
Called the CRH-3 (China Railway High-speed), these were China's first self-designed and self-manufactured passenger trains.
The MOR had said about 26 million passengers traveled between the two cities every year, and this new line was forecast to raise the figure to 32 million in 2008.
Wang said more trains would be put into service in the future as the signal system allowed trains at minimum intervals of three minutes.
At least three kinds of trains already run between the two cities.
D-category trains run at 200 to 250 km per hour and take 70 minutes. Passengers pay 51 yuan for a first-class seat and 42 yuan or a second-class seat.
K-category trains run slower and take 100 minutes. The maximum fare is 20 yuan.
A third category runs only during major holidays, such as the
Lunar New Year, and supplements regular services.
US$1=6.85272 yuan
-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_world.php?id=349736
China opens high-speed railway ahead of Olympics
01/08/2008 -- 9:07 PM
Beijing (VNA) - Two official ceremonies were held in Beijing and Olympic co-host city Tianjin on August 1, marking the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, one week before the Games begin.
The two opening ceremonies were staged at the new Beijing South Railway Station and the Tianjin Station.
The Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway is the world's only rail line passenger trains that can run at 350 km per hour, the Chinese Ministry of Railways was quoted by Xinhua news agency.
The new train service will cut the 120-km journey from 70 minutes to about 30 minutes. There are five stations along the line: the Beijing South Railway Station, Yizhuang, Yongle, Wuqing and Tianjin .
The intercity rail line will shuttle spectators, athletes, media and other passengers between Beijing and Tianjin, which is to host 12 Olympic football matches from August 6-15.-Enditem
http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/261369/Default.aspx
See previous post for Beijing-Tianjin Express news
Interesting Chinese Rail Enthusiast Forum here. Loads of pictures. At the bottom of each page there is a Google Translation drop-down menu to allow you to view the pages in a number of languages including English. The translation is very primitive, but it does help to get the main idea:
http://bbs.hasea.com/
Updated Monday, December 8, 2008 11:08 am TWN, By Marianne Barriaux, AFP
China gets on board multi-billion dollar railway project to speed up economy
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news_images/20081208/p12d.jpg
[Photo: China Post - A bullet train arrives at the northern Shanghai Railway Station on Sunday, April 29, 2007, in Shanghai, China. (Bloomberg News)]
BEIJING -- Travelling at 330 kilometers an hour on one of China’s fastest trains, businessman Ren Wenzuo had nothing but praise for a multi-billion-dollar plan to spin a web of new rail links across the country.
“People nowadays want to have convenient ways of travel, and with more fast trains across China, they will bring convenience to everyone,” he said on board the service from Beijing to neighboring Tianjin.
Ren, 47, said a work trip to Tianjin now took him one day to complete, compared with two before the new line was introduced in August, when the train service took twice as long.
More is to come as China recently approved a two-trillion-yuan (US$300 billion) investment in its railway infrastructure over the next two years in a bid to spur growth in the face of the global economic crisis.
Longer term, China is aiming to have 120,000 kilometers (74,500 miles) of tracks laid down by 2020, up from 79,000 today, deputy railway minister Lu Dongfu told reporters last month.
Investing in infrastructure is a good way to spur growth amid the current economic woes, said Hu Xingdou, economics professor at the Beijing University of Technology.
“The drop in exports is a situation that is very hard to change, consumer demand cannot be spurred very quickly, so investing in infrastructure becomes quite an effective method,” he said.
China’s economy is slowing dramatically, with the World Bank predicting the country’s growth rate will be just 7.5 percent next year, the lowest in nearly two decades.
China made a similar move at the end of the 1990s amid the Asian financial crisis by investing heavily in the road network across the country.
The huge cash injection in the rail system is expected to boost employment and demand for raw materials, and promote real estate as land and towns near the new railways are also developed.
“I estimate these investments in railways could contribute as much as two percent to the annual GDP,” said Hu.
But more than a way to spur growth in the face of the financial crisis, the railway investment is a much-needed cash injection in an industry that has been relatively neglected.
“China’s railways have long lagged in development, so rail transport is the bottleneck of the nation’s economic and social growth, the weak point of the transport industry, and urgently needs faster expansion,” said Lu.
China’s railway network is already one of the most extensive in the world, but it has come under pressure as the nation’s economy has boomed, giving many of the country’s 1.3 billion people more opportunity to travel.
Chinese New Year is a perfect illustration of the bottlenecks that grip the country’s railways, when scenes of havoc take hold at stations throughout the nation as people desperately try to get a place on a train to go home.
China’s vast territory, full of natural resources such as coal that need to be moved from far flung regions to the cities, also highlights the importance of the railway network in the country.
The nation is currently only able to satisfy around 35 percent of applications for freight transport, according to Wang Fang, China transport coordinator for the Asian Development Bank.
“If the rail system is improved in terms of its capacity and its service, the overall economy can benefit from cost savings, time savings, for both cargo and passenger transport,” she said.
But Joseph Cheng, professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong, sounded a note of warning on focusing too heavily on infrastructure investment to spur economic growth at the expense of more important priorities.
“This is high time for China to spend some money on social services — education, services for the elderly, medical care, and not only infrastructure projects,” said Cheng.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/c_business/2008/12/08/186703/China-gets.htm
Updated Monday, December 8, 2008 11:07 am TWN, AP
China to invest US$22 bil. on railways in northern province
BEIJING -- China plans to invest US$22 billion to build more railways in the coal-rich northern province of Shanxi as part of a bid to ease chronic congestion and promote domestic growth in the face of the global economic slowdown, state media reported Sunday.
China is in a railway-building boom, adding hundreds of miles (kilometers) of track each year in an expansion that rivals the construction of railroads in the 19th century American West. Ramping up construction can help create jobs at a time when the country’s economic boom appears to be stalling, with growth expected to slow this year to about 9 percent, down from last year’s 11.9 percent.
Expanding the rail system will also help alleviate severe bottlenecks, especially for transport of the coal that is used to generate three-quarters of China’s electricity supply.
Shanxi, which accounts for a third of China’s coal output, will get 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) of new track by 2015, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
Construction of at least three new railway lines will start in the first half of next year, Xinhua said, citing provincial officials and the Ministry of Railways.
The building of a railway in the central-southern part of Shanxi will enable the province to ship coal directly to coastal ports in eastern Shandong province, Xinhua said.
Calls to provincial officials and the Ministry of Railways information office rang unanswered Sunday.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/c_business/2008/12/08/186702/China-to.htm
Track to the future
Alan Simon and Wang Ru
China Daily
Publication Date: 19-12-2008
http://www.asianewsnet.net/photo/news/Train_copy1.bmp
[Photo: ANN]
We're often advised to enjoy the journey more than the goal. In that case, you'd better be quick if you want to savour the bullet train to Tianjin in China.
The world's fastest inter-city train covers the 120 km in just 29 minutes, reaching a peak of 350 km/h. If you like to read a book or gaze at the passing countryside, this isn't for you.
If, on the other hand, you want to be whisked from A to B quickly, cheaply and comfortably, China's new trains are heaven-sent.
For some, it might seem predictable, even mundane. A booming country, money to burn, flexing its new economic muscle on the back of an acclaimed Olympic Games.
Not so for 65-year-old Yuan Yishan. He appreciates the good times because he still remembers the bad. The accountant from Tianjin has been travelling to and from Beijing for about 45 years.
When we met, he had zipped up to Beijing South first thing, completed his work inside three hours and by lunchtime was waiting for his trip home to south Tianjin to prepare dinner for his grandson.
"Forty years ago, it was impossible to travel between the two cities in a day and the slow train made the short trip uncomfortable," he said, looking utterly contented.
"My first train to Beijing was in the early 1960s. It was a slow steam train and took about four and a half hours. We had to sit on hard wooden benches and my back was aching all over when I got off at the old Yongdingmen Station."
No wonder, then, that when Beijing South made its grand debut on the eve of the Olympics, he was an immediate fan. "It feels like flying on land!" he beamed. "One day I noticed the speed reached 320 km/h. Apart from the speed, the big soft chair and free mineral water made the journey comfortable and relaxed.
"Now there are trains to and from Beijing every 15 minutes and there are restaurants and coffee shops in the station hall. I really enjoy these trips." The second-class ticket for 59 yuan (US$8.3) also went down well.
For Australian businessman Charles Brent, the bullet train marks an end to ghastly road trips.
"I used to drive back and forth," said the investment specialist, who paid an extra 10 yuan for a wee bit more space and comfort in the first-class carriage.
"It used to take three and a half hours and it was quite dangerous. Invariably I would see an accident, often a fatal one. It was so bad I wouldn't even consider doing it at night. Trucks would stop in the middle of the road and put you at risk of decapitating yourself if you drove into the back of them. Other drivers would stop to change wheels when you least expected it."
Brent believes this is just the start. "I reckon China's railway network will lead the world in design and efficiency, both for passengers and freight, within 15 years," he said.
"I have dramatically increased my use of trains in the last two years--they have become so much faster, safer and more pleasant than driving."
Price and speed were the motivation for Cai Meijuan, 34. Cai, a native of Qingdao, landed a sales job in Beijing in 2001 and ever since has been returning home twice a year to visit her parents.
She has recently had to make the trip several times and has switched to the new high-speed trains. "A one-way flight cost me 700 yuan ($100) and the new train is only 200 ($29)," she said.
"The new train to Qingdao takes about five hours, twice as quick as the old one. The flight time might be quicker but you have to arrive at the airport at least an hour before to check in and it takes an extra hour to get home from Qingdao Airport, so the train makes a lot of sense for me."
The only complaint Cai had was access to the rest of Beijing from the new train station. She is relishing the day the new subway lines are connected, slicing even more money and time off her journey.
Australian factory owner Bill McGuinness planned to spend as much of his three-week business trip to China on the new trains. "I'd use them every day of the week," he said as he prepared to start his four-hour 30-minute journey to Jinan. "It's the best way to see the country."
http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?id=3201&sec=11
Updated Friday, December 26, 2008 10:28 am TWN, Reuters
Chinese man detained for 3 days for smoking on train
BEIJING -- A man was given three days in detention for breaking a non-smoking rule on a new high-speed rail line, Chinese state media said, an unusually severe punishment in a country where smoking bans are routinely ignored. He was caught smoking in the toilet just after the train had left Tianjin for Beijing, triggering an alarm and causing the train to stop, the official Xinhua news agency said on its Web site (www.xinhuanet.com).
The high-tech line connects the capital with neighboring Tianjin. It opened in time for this year’s Beijing Olympics and features carriages more luxurious than usual in China, including swivel chairs and spacious, plush interiors.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/local-news/other/2008/12/26/189337/Chinese-man.htm
China builds 2nd railway to Central Asia
URUMQI, Dec 29 (Xinhua) -- A railway tunnel running across northern Tianshan Mount Range was completed Sunday after four years' efforts.
This 13.6-km-long tunnel, which links up Jinghe, Yining and Korgas, all in western Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region, constitutes a vital part of a railway that is designed as a second railway to connect China and Central Asia.
China's first railway to Central Asia runs from Urumqi to Alataw Pass on China-Kazakhstan border.
The railway with the tunnel just completed has a length of 285 km. Rail-laying work in the tunnel will start next March, according to the No. 2 company of China Railway First Group Co.,Ltd, the builder.(Xinhua)
Today In Asia : Last Update : 11:01:45 29 December 2008 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=7902
China's rails brace for Spring Festival passenger rush
BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- As the annual Spring Festival draws near, hundreds of millions of Chinese studying or working away from their hometowns are rushing home for the reunion with their long-separated families.
But the rush means dramatic surges in passenger flows and pain for the country's already-panting rail system.
Can it cope?
Government officials said in a recent teleconference the nation expects 2.32 billion traveler-times during the upcoming 40-day travel peak before, during and after the Spring Festival holiday.
A record 188 million will opt for rails, the main choice for long-distance travel in the country, to take them home. That's 8 percent more than the same period last year.
Railway authorities in major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou have added 319 temporary express passengers trains for the holiday rush.
But some people will find it hard to purchase a train ticket home through normal channels. Workers at ticket booths at railway stations report that a Jan. 13 ticket from Beijing to Shenzhen had already sold out.
Railway stations across the country start selling tickets in advance -- normally 4 days in advance during this holiday season.
It's common to see numerous queues of people crowded at railway stations trying to get a ticket home, with some failing to get what they want.
Liu Hongmei, who had graduated from college last year and stayed in Beijing for work, said in a telephone interview that she might have to buy a ticket from scalpers, people who buy large quantities of tickets from train stations and resell it for higher rates to passengers.
For many Chinese, including tens of millions of migrant workers who are working in big cities without decent wages, flying by plane could be too costly.
So they join the rail woes year after year.
Wang Yongping, spokesman with the Ministry of Railways, told Xinhua in an interview Friday that the country is gearing up for the festival challenge.
He said the ministry takes all possible measures every year to optimize rail transport to appease the passenger demand.
Measures for this year's Spring Festival travel rush include:
-- plans to run 1413.5 regular round-trips and 319 temporary trains, 142 and 8 more than last year, respectively;
-- some sleeper train compartments would be restructured as seats to allow in more passengers;
-- rail system across the country would continue working with universities and institutes of higher learning to ensure student tickets;
-- railway stations would increase the number of ticket booths and set up special booths for migrants and students;
-- police would enact strict clamp down on ticket scalping and counterfeiting and selling of fake tickets;
-- ticket-selling staff were requested not to offer help to scalpers.
Meanwhile, Wang Yongping stated that the Ministry of Railways had laid out a plan to deal with severe weather conditions on the central government's Website.
Railway departments had also worked out measures in handling emergencies. (Xinhua)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=8087
Published: Sunday January 11, 2009 MYT 9:17:00 AM
China denies exporting stolen railway technologies
BEIJING (AP) - China's Railway Ministry denied reported accusations Saturday that foreigners are being squeezed out of the Chinese railway market and that local companies are exporting trains using Western technologies.
In a statement, ministry spokesman Wang Yongping defended the Chinese railway industry's record for innovation and said foreign companies would continue to have access to the China market.
The comments were the ministry's first since the Financial Times on January 2 quoted Philippe Mellier, chief executive of Paris-based train maker Alstom Transport, as saying that China was closing off its domestic market and that Chinese companies were exporting trains that used foreign technologies. The report suggested that such exports could be in violation of licensing agreements.
"We believe that if the senior official of Alstom really made those accusations against China then that is extremely irresponsible behavior,'' Wang said in the statement carried on the government's Web site.
A government-backed spending spree to expand and upgrade China's vast railway network has attracted foreign companies. Some 330 billion yuan ($48.35 billion) was spent on railway construction in 2008 and nearly twice that amount has been earmarked for 2009, according to state media.
In recent years, Alstom, Bombardier Inc. of Canada and Germany's Siemens have won contracts to sell and develop high-speed rail cars and technologies in China.
Wang, the spokesman, said foreign and Chinese cooperation had benefited both sides, with foreign firms making money and Chinese companies learning how to develop trains with average speeds of 180 miles per hour (300 kilometers per hour). But Wang said China's new generation of high-speed trains, which travel at 210 miles per hour (350 kilometers per hour) were completely homegrown.
"This is the innovative results of our wholly owned intellectual property and there's no stealing of Western technology,'' Wang said.
In the Financial Times, Alstom's Mellier was quoted as saying that Chinese companies were selling freight locomotives in foreign markets that were based on transferred technology. The newspaper suggested that the sales of such products may violate agreements that would prohibit China from selling the technologies abroad. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/11/business/20090111091605&sec=business
It is perhaps worth noting that Thais are continually struggling to keep the customer satisfied with about the same rail length per punter (6.27 Cms vs a cool 31.7 Cms for Poo-Dee Unggrit)::eek::rolleyes::confused::p;):D
Jan 25, 2009
CNY puts trains in line for cash
China's New Year rush puts trains in line for cash
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20090125/asia-train.jpg
[Photo: Straits Times - Beijing has pledged to nearly double rail spending this year to 600 billion yuan to ease the congestion. -- PHOTO: REUTERS]
BEIJING - CHINA'S trains laboured to carry millions home on Sunday on the eve of the country's biggest annual holiday, serving as a reminder of the staggering infrastructure needs of the world's third-largest economy.
Despite investing vast amounts in the rail network, 350 billion yuan (S$76.9 billion) in 2008 alone, the government has struggled to keep up with passenger flows as more Chinese move to cities for work and have the money to return home to the countryside for the Lunar New Year.
Beijing has pledged to nearly double rail spending this year to 600 billion yuan to ease the congestion.
'It was so difficult to get tickets this year. We tried for several days and couldn't get anything. So we asked a friend of ours who was able to get them through his boss,' said Mr Lei Guo, a young accountant who was waiting with his girlfriend in a Beijing railway station for their train to Taiyuan in central China.
The government's 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan for the slowing Chinese economy is concentrated on infrastructure spending that could make future New Year trips less of a headache, but this focus has come under criticism from those who think hospitals and schools deserve higher priority.
About 45 per cent of the stimulus package will go towards roads, railways, airports and power grids, while only 4 per cent will be spent on the country's education and healthcare systems, according to Standard Chartered economists.
'Improvements in infrastructure will lift up economic efficiency substantially in the future,' said Mr Wang Xiaolu, deputy director of the National Economic Research Institute.
'But at the same time I still believe that the health care, education and social security systems need lots of improvement.' he added. 'Investment in infrastructure itself is not enough to stimulate domestic demand.'
China's threadbare social provisions force citizens to save much of their incomes for schooling and medical needs, stunting the consumer spending that analysts and the government have identified as vital to putting the economy on more solid footing.
Propaganda coup
The clout of the railways ministry is part of the explanation for the government's emphasis on infrastructure spending.
Frustrations of passengers who struggle to buy tickets at New Year and crowd onto trains, some standing for a day at a time, translate into a propaganda coup for railway officials calling for more funding.
About 188 million passengers were expected to travel by rail in the 40-day peak period around the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, an increase of 8 per cent from a year earlier despite the economic slowdown, the Ministry of Railways said.
In one statistic that the ministry likes to repeat, the per-capita rail length in China is only 6cm, shorter than a cigarette. China plans to increase its current 79,000 kms of railways to 110,000km by 2012.
But the railway ministry has also come under heavy scrutiny this year over scalping, which many ordinary Chinese blame on train station staff hoarding tickets and then profiteering off the New Year's rush.
'This year's Spring Festival is facing a tougher supply-demand imbalance. The ministry has to brainstorm for measures to improve passenger convenience and make them all public,' President Hu Jintao said this week, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Police were reported to have arrested 4,069 scalpers and recovered 88,563 scalped train tickets over the past few weeks.
But so long as Spring Festival is the only time each year for tens of millions of Chinese to visit home, the sudden spike in traffic may continue to defy the government's vast rail investment and its crackdown on scalpers.
'It costs a little more, but I'm visiting family, so of course it's worth it,' said Mr Li Xiaoping, a sales manager for a Beijing media company who had bought scalped tickets. -- REUTERS
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_330623.html
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