In the first half year, CSR’s oversea sales revenue and orders increased more

than 100% from the same period last year.

On 1st August, CSR received the good news that it won subway vehicle order for

Ankara, the capital of Turkey, with contract value of RMB2.5 billion. It is the

biggest order ever obtained in China rail transit equipment industry from

Europe, setting a precedent in supplying Chinese subway vehicle manufacturing

technology to Europe.

CSR has got rapid growth in overseas market. In 2011, the oversea sales revenue

was over RMB6 billion, surging almost 162% compared with one year earlier. And

in the first half year of 2012, CSR’s oversea sales revenue has kept

substantial increase to surpass RMB5 billion, increasing more than 100% from the

same period last year.

It is reported that CSR has also won orders of Malaysia Ampang Line subway

vehicle, 64 Kazakhstan diesel locomotives, and Hong Kong high-speed 350 km/h EMU

in the first half year. Up to now, the total sum of all overseas contracts CSR

signed has reached f1.2 billion, with an increase more than 100% from the same

period last year as well.

Together with great increase of oversea sales revenue year-on-year, CSR is

undergoing profound transformation of overseas market development model. On one

hand, CSR has deepened the market in key areas with robust product and quality

service. Successive orders have been signed in Turkey, Australia, Kazakhstan,

Malaysia and many other markets. The good performance of products in the

practical application has won high praise from the users, thus guaranteeing the

achievement of follow-up orders. On the other hand, CSR is on its way to drive

the localized product manufacturing, and to promote the transformation of

overseas trade pattern from "product export" to "product-and-service export".

Localization of product manufacturing will be applicable for both Malaysia

Ampang Line and Turkey Ankara projects. Moreover, China South Locomotive

Australian Co., Ltd was founded in the first half year. The products involved in

Ankara project will be manufactured in Turkey in two steps - 30% in step one and

51% in step two. On the basis of this project, CSR will invest heavily to

establish subway vehicle manufacturing base together with Turkey, and to provide

it with manufacturing and relevant maintenance technologies mainly about high-

end stainless subway vehicle. 80% of employees will come from the local

population, and the planned annual production will be 200 units. At that time,

it will become the subway vehicle manufacturing base and 4S store for China rail

transit equipment enterprises to enter Europe, Middle Asia and Northern Africa

market.

The Turkey Ankara subway vehicle project has gone through public bidding in the

world by the General Council of Turkey Railway, Harbor and Airport Construction,

and CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd wins the bid with advanced

technology and service. It is reported that all the subway vehicles for Ankara

will apply stainless body and will be compatible with existing local subway

vehicles in both appearance and technology. Modularization, standardization and

lightweight design will be employed to strengthen reliability as well as lower

life-cycle cost. These vehicles are designed to have the body width of 3.12 m

and interior vertical clearance of 2.3 m, being more suitable to tall European,

to get rid of depression. In addition, the maximum operating speed can reach to

80 kilometers per hour and the turning radius is 80 m at least. The most

capacity of the three-car multiple unit is over 1,000 passengers. The first 15-

carriage vehicle will be delivered in 20 months since the signature of contract,

and the others will be delivered in 39 months when the vehicles will be put into

operation along the four main subway lines in Ankara City.

According to relevant statistics, the light rail train running along No. 2 line

in Izmir City, provided by CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd, has already

run safely for more than 20,000 kilometers since it is put into operation in

March, and has carried more than 2 million passengers, becoming an important

local rail transportation facility.

On July 18, the contract for three MAN9L27/38 large full-fiber steel

crankshafts signed between CSR Ziyang Locomotive Co., Ltd. CSR Ziyang and

Thyssen Krupp AG took effect, marking China’s first large crankshaft order with

Europe and first step towards the European market.

On July 3, a delegation, headed by the China purchase manager and German

crankshaft purchase director of Thyssen Krupp, visited CSR Ziyang. After the

visit and technical exchange, the delegation spoke highly of the company’s

technical and manufacturing capabilities of crankshafts, and fixed the matters

concerning purchasing three MAN9L27/38 large crankshafts. The contract will come

into effect on July 18. 

China was long dependent on imported German MAN32/40 and MAN27/38 full-fiber

steel crankshafts in the past. CSR Ziyang introduced 32/40 and 27/38 crankshaft

technologies from MAN in 2008, successfully trial-manufactured the country’s

first MAN32/40 crankshaft in November 2011, has accomplished the full coverage

of the series and become China’s only enterprise capable of manufacturing L and

V 32/40 and 27/38 crankshafts from forging, thermal processing to machining. In

May 2012, the company exported the first batch of eight localized German

MAN32/40 large full-fiber steel crankshafts to Germany, marking the first time

that China has exported large full-fiber steel crankshafts in volume, marking a

change from import reliance to volume export.

Thyssen Krupp AG was established in March 1999 through the merger of Thyssen AG

and Krupp AG. Founded at the beginning of the last century both, Thyssen and

Krupp had made remarkable contributions to Europe’s iron & steel industry and

machinery building industry and are epitomes of Germany’s heavy industry. The

company’s current product scope covers fields including iron & steel, auto

technology, machine building, engineering design and trade.

According to sources, the order is scheduled to be delivered in late August

2012. Thyssen Krupp intends to purchase large crankshafts from CSR Ziyang in

large volume.

One of China's leading locomotive producers said Friday that it has delivered a

batch of high-speed train compartments ordered by Siemens AG, marking the first

such export to Europe.

Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CNR Corp, producer of China's

first passenger train, said the 91-million-yuan ($14.3 million) delivery

demonstrates the company's status as a strategic supplier of high-speed train

components.

The company's high-speed train component production line has been certified

according to international railway industry standards, the company said.

Tangshan and Siemens will engage in cooperation regarding technological

development, product sales and personnel exchanges, according to an agreement

inked between the two.

The world's first super-capacity light rail train was completed Friday by China

South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Limited (CSR) Zhuzhou Electric

Locomotive Co, Ltd in Zhuzhou, central China's Hunan province.

The new type of electric locomotive can be fully charged within 30 seconds

during its station stops, as it has a box-type super capacitor on the roof and

charge spots at the foot of every compartment, Xu Zongxiang, general manager of

the company, said.

The train, which can hold a maximum of 320 passengers, does not need a

traditional pantograph installed on the roof to get electricity from the high-

tension lines along the track, according to Xu.

Xu said the train, which features low energy consumption and occupies less land,

can provide a new solution for the construction of highly cost-effective and

environmentally-friendly urban rail public transport.

A Chinese train maker said Wednesday it will sell components to German

engineering giant Siemens, in what will be the first time Chinese high-speed

train parts have been exported to Europe.

The deal, reportedly worth more than 11 million euros ($13.6 million), will see

parts including some aluminium-alloy car bodies shipped to Europe, said an

official with the state-owned China CNR Corporation Limited.

He said it marks the first time that such Chinese train parts will be exported

to the continent.

"(Siemens) will place more orders as long as the first order passes their

checks," said the official, who declined to be named. "They are likely to make

China a regular supplier of such parts."

China has built the world's largest high-speed rail system from scratch in less

than a decade, but the railway ministry has been accused of overlooking safety

in its rush to develop the country's vast transport network.

The Beijing News reported Wednesday that, according to an agreement signed in

April, a subsidiary of the Chinese company was to produce high-speed train parts

worth 11.55 million euros for Siemens this year.

Officials at Siemens in Beijing were not immediately available for comment when

contacted by AFP Wednesday.

The train car bodies are "one of the nine key technologies" in the manufacturing

of high-speed trains as there are strict requirements for the welding of

aluminium alloy to achieve precise sizes, said the CNR official.

The reputation of China's high-speed trains was tarnished after a bullet train

collision in July last year near the eastern city of Wenzhou killed at least 40

people and injured hundreds.

In the weeks following the accident, authorities announced a halt to new train

projects and introduced new speed restrictions on bullet train lines.

An accident report released late last year blamed design flaws and poor

management for the crash, which sparked public fury and worries over the safety

of the nation's rail system.

The government said previously that more than 50 people would be punished for

the disaster.

China's railway courts are now being integrated into civilian courts as part of

reforms that are intended to help build a unified judicial system.

Railway courts handle criminal and civil cases concerning railway

transportation, safety and property. They were operated by the Ministry of

Railways in the past.

All of the country's railways courts will be funded by local finances and the

appointment of relevant posts in such courts will be decided by local

legislatures, according to a statement from the Supreme People's Court.

China created the railway courts in 1954 but eliminated them just three years

later. The courts reemerged in the 1980s, when authorities created a three-tier

railway court system including a Supreme Court in Beijing, 17 intermediate

courts in local bureaus and another 58 lower courts. The supreme court was

eliminated in 1987.

All intermediate- and lower-level courts have been integrated into the civilian

court system as of June 28 this year, according to the SPC statement.

More than 3,300 staff and assets with a total worth of 7 billion yuan ($1.1

billion) from the railway court system were transferred, it says.

According to a judicial interpretation issued by the SPC on Monday, all railway

courts will be able to accept criminal and civil cases in addition to railway-

related ones starting from August 1. 

Traffic on a major railway in western China resumed on Monday, five days after

a landslide unleashed by torrential rain forced the line's closure, railway

authorities said.

As of 8:59 p.m., trains were able to pass in both directions through Guangyuan

city in Sichuan Province, on the Baoji-Chengdu Railway, according to the Xi'an

Railway Bureau, which administers the line.

The landslide happened at 12:37 p.m on Thursday, damaging the track and forcing

train services to be suspended, said an official with the bureau.

Traffic resumed in one direction at 6:09 p.m. on Thursday, but it took the

efforts of 2,000 people, 14 excavators and two loaders to allow it to resume in

the other direction five days later, the official said.

The railway is a key transportation route between the city of Baoji in northwest

China's Shaanxi Province and Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu.  

The high-speed rail linking Beijing and Shenzhen in Guangdong province is

expected to enter service by the end of this year. By then, the 2,372-kilometer

journey will take only eight hours rather than the current 24 to 29 hours by

train, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Monday.

The line will start at Shenzhen, end at Beijing and make stops at Guangzhou,

Changsha, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang, the report said. The Shenzhen-Wuhan

section has been operating since April 1. The section between Zhengzhou and

Wuhan will be finished by September.

However, many people have voiced concerns over the ticket price.

The current price for high-speed railway from Shenzhen to Wuhan is 840 yuan

($131) for a place in first-class coach and 540 for second class. The distance

between Shenzhen and Wuhan is about half the journey from Shenzhen to Beijing.

An airplane ticket from Shenzhen to Beijing costs 1,750 yuan without a discount.

The regular train costs between 257 and 720 yuan.

Rail and air transport services in Xiamen were affected by the year's 11th

typhoon Haikui, which made landfall in east China's Zhejiang Province early on

Wednesday morning, reports Xiamen Economic Daily.

The air traffic in Xiamen was slightly disrupted on Tuesday with the temporary

cancellation of 7 flights departing to Shanghai due to the strong typhoon,

according to Xiamen Airport.

Meanwhile, 21 pairs of bullet trains heading to Fuzhou, Fuding, Ningbo, Hangzhou

and Shanghai were suspended on Wednesday including D3202, D3204, D3206, D3208,

D3212, D3214, D3216, D3218, D3304, D3232, D3210, D3120, D3220, D6270, D6256,

D6238, D6254, D6250, D6252, D6202 and D6244, according to Xiamen Railway

Station.

Railway authorities reminded passengers to keep an eye on weather changes before

travelling, and that they can get the latest information of rail and air service

by dialing 12306 and 95557 respectively.
 

Shanghai's metro police published an online list of beggars on trains recently.

It soon raised a heated debate on how the beggars, given that they are a

disadvantaged group, should be treated, says an article on xinhuanet.com.

Excerpts:

Police must have made great efforts to publish a detailed list, complete with

concrete information on the beggars' household registrations, individual

characters and personal habits. For example, on top of the list is a 22-year-old

surnamed He who has been stopped from begging for 309 times in four years.

But netizens immediately started criticizing metro police for being indifferent

to beggars. They also expressed indignation and suggested we be more sympathetic

to and tolerant of such disadvantaged groups.

It's not wrong to be sympathetic to and tolerant of beggars. But we should also

understand why police took such pains to publish the list. In fact, many beggars

regard seeking alms as a profession, and earn more money and live a much better

life than even some urban white-collar workers.

These professional beggars can hardly be considered a disadvantaged group if we

look at their incomes and real living conditions. Instead, they take advantage

of people's sympathy.

We should see the beggars who are professionals and those who are not

differently. We should be sympathetic toward physically disabled people who are

forced to beg and try to help them within our capacity.

But we should also support police to take certain measures against professional

beggars who are actually selling their dignity and giving the really

disadvantaged a bad name.

CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive has unveiled a prototype light metro trainset

which uses supercapacitor energy storage to operate without an external power

supply.

Developed in conjunction with Chinese Academy of Engineering, the trainset has

underfloor power pick-ups which are used to charge the roof-mounted

supercapacitor unit from a fixed supply while the train is stood at a station.

Charging takes 30 sec and can power the train for 2 km. Energy regenerated

during braking is recovered for reuse.

The two-car articulated trainset which was rolled out on August 10 is designed

for a maximum speed of 80 km/h, with an intended operating speed of 70 km/h. It

is 2 650 mm wide, has a capacity of 320 passengers and is suitable for a minimum

curve radius of 80 m.

The supercapacitor has a greater power density than lithium-ion batteries, and

wireless operation is seen as a cheaper and less visually intrusive alternative

to conventional electrification.

Commercial production is envisaged by 2014, with the manufacturer believing the

technology could be viable for use in more than 100 smaller and medium-sized

Chinese cities, as well as for the export market.

China will have established a high-speed railway network covering almost all its

cities with a population of more than 500,000 by 2015, according to a latest

official program.

The State Council, or China's cabinet, late Tuesday issued a plan for building a

comprehensive transportation network during the 2011-2015 period.

According to the plan, China should basically complete the construction of a

high-speed railway network with a total operating length of more than 40,000

kilometers by the end of 2015.

Analysts expect China's railway equipment manufacturing industry will see rapid

growth.

"We forecast the country's railway construction will accelerate and the

investment in the construction will also speed up in the next few years,"

according to Sinolink Securities Co., a Chinese brokerage company.

China will initially establish a comprehensive transportation network with a

total length of 4.9 million kilometers, mainly including railways, roads and

inland waterways, according to the plan.

The Ministry of Railways will raise 20 billion yuan ($3.14 billion) through

bonds to finance the construction of the country's railway projects, according

to Chinabond.com.cn.

It will be the fourth batch of the offering after the previous three batches in

June 12, July 3 and July 31, in which a total of 65 billion yuan were issued.

The new round will increase the ministry's bond issuance so far to 85 billion

yuan, over half of the ministry's 150 billion yuan bond issuance quota for 2012,

which is approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The issue is part of a plan by the ministry to speed up the construction of

railway projects this year, despite its big losses, which are a result of the

previous aggressive expansion of high-speed railways.

The ministry reported a loss of 7 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2012,

which it attributed to a slowdown in passenger and cargo traffic.