The US vehicle parts supplier Delphi Automotive Plc announced on Thursday it will invest about $100 million in China, the largest amount the company has put into the country in its two decades of operating here.

Work on Delphi's first diesel-power train manufacturing base in China started in the coastal city of Yantai, Shandong province, on Thursday and the base will be operational by the end of next year.

It will produce high-precision diesel fuel injection system components for light, medium and heavy-duty common rail systems, ultimately making them for cars, light commercial vehicles, sport utility vehicles, trucks, buses and agricultural and construction equipment.

Delphi's existing operation in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, will supply engine control modules.

"Our diesel system business in China now accounts for about 5 percent of total revenue of Delphi's global diesel business. We hope this operation will boost our China market's contribution to one-third by the end of this decade," said John Fuerst, general manager of Delphi Diesel Systems under the company's powertrain systems division.

Steven Kiefer, president of the division, said: "Although from last year, the automobile industry's growth rates slowed a bit in China, it was, and will still be, stronger than those in any other countries. We have strong confidence in China, which is critical for Delphi's long-term success."

Delphi's Chinese revenue last year rose 21 percent year-on-year, far higher than the automobile industry's average of 2.45 percent, its lowest in 13 years.

Kiefer said: "We also believe there is great potential for growth in diesel vehicles in China, and Delphi expects to obtain 20 percent of market share in this sector in the near future."

Delphi said the initial phase of the production base will supply three important Chinese customers: Great Wall Motors Co Ltd, the Shandong Huayuan Laidong Engine Co Ltd and Yuchai Group.

Fuerst said: "As we see increasing demand for high-tech diesel systems from more Chinese customers, we plan to double the production site over the next three to five years."

In the past three years, China's automotive market has overtaken the US' to become the world's largest.

But high oil prices, environmental concerns and China's commitment to reduce carbon emissions have seen the implementation of higher automotive emissions standards for new vehicles in the country.

Kiefer said: "As China encourages domestic vehicle manufacturers to develop core technologies in the field of high-pressure electric-controlled diesel systems with independent intellectual property rights, Delphi's development strategy with its focus on localization and transferring core technology from Europe to this country will follow the plan."

This will achieve a "win-win" situation with its Chinese customers and local partners, he said.
 

Railway built to withstand extreme cold prepares to welcome travelers

A high-speed railway linking major cities in Northeast China began trial operations on Monday, ahead of its launch at the end of the year.

The new line, which links Dalian, a port city in Liaoning province and Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, is the world's first high-speed railway built to withstand extreme cold weather conditions, according to a statement by Harbin railway authorities.

A test train departed Harbin on Monday morning, arriving in Dalian three-and-a-half hours later. The journey takes nine hours on an ordinary train.

The new line will make 24 stops and connect 10 cities, including the capitals of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

The State Council has told cities across China to make development of public transportation a priority.

Public transport should be the immediate concern in the development of urban transportation, and public transport - comprising rail transit, bus and tram systems - should be accelerated, according to a document released after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday.

Road conditions for cyclists and pedestrians should also be refined, it said.

The current public transport system still has a long way to go to meet the public's needs, and the use of public transport is still too low, the document said.

The meeting stressed the need for coordination between urbanization plans and public-transport development plans. The infrastructure and supporting facilities for public transport, including parking lots, bus dispatching centers and transit centers, should also be improved, according to the document.

The central government supports the commercialization of land that has been used for public transport, including ground and underground spaces. Revenue from commercialization could be used for infrastructure development and balance the cost of public transport.

Meanwhile, government investment into public transport will be increased during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) period. The government will unveil policies include tax cuts, oil price subsidies and electricity price cuts for the public transport sector.

Private funds will also be encouraged to take part in the construction and operation of public transport, the document said.

Public transport road rights will also be guaranteed and cities must map out lanes for buses, which could also be shared by school buses and airport buses, it said.

The development of rail transit has been included in the urban development plans in a number of Chinese cities over the years. So far, 28 cities have had their rail transit development plans approved by the National Development and Reform Commission. According to those plans, 2,500 km of subway will be built between 2010 and 2015.

Duan Liren, a transport expert from Chang'an University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, said local city governments' decision to develop rail transit to further promote public transportation is a good one.

"I have been in many cities worldwide, and most of the cities that cope with road congestions well have developed rail-transit systems," he said.

He also said a variety of public transport methods, including buses and trams, should be developed to further provide convenience for commuters.

"Local authorities should put real thought into how to make public transportation more accessible to residents rather than just focusing on laying a network," he said.

Critics worry dozens of approved urban rail projects are unfeasible

The city of Shijiazhuang, a three-hour drive from Beijing, received some long-awaited news on Sept 5. The city, capital of North China's Hebei province, got the go-ahead to build its first subway from the National Development and Reform Commission, or NDRC, China's top economic planning agency.

"Subway construction has far-reaching significance for Shijiazhuang," said Jiang Deguo, the city's mayor. "It will help complete the city's transportation system."

Shijiazhuang residents have long desired a subway system because rush-hour congestion has made life miserable. Alongside the expansion of Chinese cities and urban population growth, transportation infrastructure has been deteriorating in a number of cities, and subway construction is widely perceived as a panacea.

Shijiazhuang was not the only city to welcome news from the NDRC. On Sept 5, the agency announced on its website the approval of plans and feasibility reports for 25 urban rail projects in cities including Taiyuan, Lanzhou, Guangzhou and Xiamen. The projects will cost more than 800 billion yuan ($126.88 billion). 

China's railways are busy ahead of the autumn holiday season, with millions heading home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and China's National Day holiday with their families. The 11-day travel rush, began Thursday and runs until October the 7th. According to railway authorities, the total number of rail passengers is expected to hit over 75 million.

As the holiday season begins, people are rushing home to be with their families.

The sheer numbers put great stress on China's transport infrastructure, in particular its vast rail network.

October the 1st alone will see an estimated 9 million people travelling by train, up 320,000 from last year's National Day.

Beijing's four railway stations were estimated to handle nearly 450 thousand passengers on Saturday. In Shanghai, authorities estimate passengers will hit a record of 350 thousand on Sunday.

The vast demand has seen railway administrations across the country add trains to their schedules. But even so, most routes have sold out.

The Beijing Railway Administration has added 31 return trains.

To cope with the travel rush, Fuzhou Railway Station in east China's Fujian province is scheduled to add high-speed bullet trains.

South-west China's Yunnan Province is a popular tourism spot and they have added 3 temporary train services. But train tickets from the capital Kunming to the tourist sites of Dali and Lijiang have sold out. 

China's train system is considered one of the biggest and busiest in the world, hardly surprising, maybe, given the country's size. But the great news for travelers is that its huge network of tracks, run by the Ministry of Railways, is efficient, comfortable, and relatively cheap too. Travel industry experts say that given the sometimes-mixed reputation of the country's ever-expanding air network, the train has becoming the travel mode-of-choice for a growing number of people, with its overnight 'sleeper' services gaining a particularly strong following.

There's something special about spending a night on a train.

Maybe it's the engine's gentle rhythm rocking you to sleep, or the thought of falling asleep in one place and waking up in another.

Or maybe it's just the hassle-free feeling, that once you're on board you can simply throw your bag on your bunk and relax, without wasting any valuable travel time rushing to where you want to go.

Hou Guanyue is the manager responsible for booking train travel at the nationwide China Youth Travel Service.

He says that given the high quality of some of the sleeper carriages now in service, many can feel more like mobile hotels, and realizing that standard, travelers aren't just using them for overnight trips, but as holiday 'venues'.

"Traveling can be very tiring and stressful by bus or plane. Then you have to check into your hotel. Why not combine them both, and use the train?" he adds.

"Traditionally, taking a train has been thought of as merely a means of getting from A to B; but today's Chinese sleepers are so much more than that. They have facilities on board on a par with many hotels. They are great ways to travel and brilliant ways to relax, at a very reasonable price," Hou says.

He adds that overnight train travel has become especially popular among senior citizens, who can find flying especially trying.

"You have so much more time to enjoy the journey, than you might if you were taking a flight. After so many years of hearing that air travel has become cheaper and cheaper, it's train travel which is growing now," he told China Daily.

"These special sleeper trains connect some of the country's most beautiful tourist attractions; there is no problem with traffic; you can save time and money - what's not to love about it?"

Ticket prices vary depending on which service you chose and how many days you chose to stay on board your moving hotel.

But as a rule of thumb, there are generally four types of train travel in China, to suit all sizes of budget.

The most luxurious is the 'soft' sleeper, normally spacious, four-berth compartments with two upper and two lower berths by night, which convert into two sofas for daytime use. Your bedding is normally provided, there are tables with tablecloths; and usually flasks of hot water for making drinks. Compartment doors lock securely, and there are smartly-dressed attendants looking after each car. In some trains, there are can be TV screens and power sockets for laptops and mobiles.

One step down, are the 'hard' sleepers, which aren't in fact, that hard at all, just more open-plan carriages with a broad aisle on one side housing six bunks (upper, middle, and lower). Despite the name, hard sleeper bunks are reasonably well padded, and bedding is again supplied.

Then, there are soft seat and hard seat options. These are the equivalent to first and second class seats on an overnight European train, but again the 'hard' seats are usually padded and reasonably comfortable, in spite of the name.

Taking a six-day trip, for example, in a lower soft sleeper can cost you about 4,000 yuan ($633) per person, with the most luxurious berths costing up to 10,000 yuan.

Hou's China Youth Travel Service has designed and developed a range of packages and routes for sleeper travelers, including the Changbai Mountain Trip to the north east provinces, and re-traveling the Silk Road, in the south east of the country.

He plans to launch others at the beginning of November, he says, which will cover four or five other scenery spots in Hunan and Guizhou provinces, such as Phoenix Ancient City and Huangguoshu Waterfall, which will last eight days.

"Travelers will be able to visit various spots during the day, and their nights will be spent traveling on the sleeper in comfort.

Usually sleeper trains are about 10 coaches long all with food services on board; although more luxurious than regular train services, they do travel slower than day services.

Hou adds that in some cases, other special travel packages might include having medical staff on board in case of emergency, for instance.

Sun Liqun, assistant manager with China International Travel Service, one of the largest travel agencies in China, is also a great enthusiast about traveling the country by train.

"One of the great advantages is that in some of the areas they travel to - in Gansu or Qinghai provinces, for instance - the local hotel accommodation might not be as developed as people might like, but you are guaranteed a level of comfort on board.

"Travelers really enjoy the fact don't have to worry about taking their heavy luggage or suitcase with them during stops. They can leave them on the train, and travel agency people on board can look after them," she adds.

"They can concentrate on enjoying the beautiful scenery out the window when they are on board, or sleep. And when they get off, they can focus on the fresh air and the destinations themselves without having to worry about getting to their next destination, or getting to a busy airport."

Yu Bo is 26-year-old, and lives in Beijing. He says his only memories of traveling by train were when he was young.

"The coaches were crowded and dirty, and the trip was exhausting, so I've generally used flights in recent years," he told China Daily. "Because I've never traveled by sleeper, I'd still be worried about the standard of facilities on board - but I do admit, the thought of being able to enjoy the views out of the window along the way is very attractive."

A new high-speed railway connecting Central China's Zhengzhou city and Wuhan city opened on Friday morning, easing traffic pressure ahead of a boom in passenger numbers during the coming National Day holiday.

The railway, referred to as the Zheng-Wu high-speed railway, covers a distance of 536 km and trains will pass along it at a designed speed of 350 km per hour, said its designer, Li Zhengjun with the China Railway Construction Co Ltd.

With eight stops along the line, the Zheng-Wu high-speed railway has cut the travel time from Zhengzhou to Wuhan from four and a half hours to two hours, said Li, integrating the Central China economic zone and the Yangtze River Delta.

Looking at a map of China, the railway runs from north to south, connecting the middle parts of China's second-longest river -the Yellow River - and the country's longest one - the Yangtze River.

The Zheng-Wu line has also been linked to other high-speed railways, including Wuhan-Guangzhou, Hefei-Wuhan, and Zhengzhou-Xi'an, forming a high-speed railway network, said Li.

It is hoped that this network will greatly facilitate communication between central and eastern China areas concerning human resources and logistics.

It will also relieve pressure on the network from the National Day holiday travel peak in the coming week.

More than 660 million people are expected to travel during the week-long National Day holiday starting on Sunday, an increase of 8.8 percent from the same period last year, according to a prediction made by the Ministry of Transport last week.

Trains are the mainstream means of transport for Chinese holiday travelers.

Furthermore, Li noted that the opening of the Zheng-Wu high-speed railway will bring new life to cities along the railway.

Xu Keliang, deputy chief engineer of China Railway Construction Co Ltd, said the successful opening of the line further enriches China's experience on modern, high-speed railway design and construction.

As for the safety issue of high-speed rail, which has aroused heated debate, Xu said railway authorities have already made a number of tests on the high-speed train, track and running to guarantee safety.

Investment in the Zheng-Wu high-speed railway hit 69.4 billion yuan ($11 billion), with its construction taking about four years, according to Yu Zhuomin, chief of the Wuhan Railway Station Bureau.

Debt has remained high in the railway sector. The Ministry of Railways, the main investor in China's railway projects, reported a loss of 7 billion yuan in the first quarter, with its debt-to-asset ratio standing at around 60 percent.

As of July 2012, the combined length of China's high-speed railway has reached 13,000 km, the most out of any other country in the world.

China aims to construct a high-speed railway network with a total operating length of more than 40,000 km by the end of 2015.

A faster way of travel but with higher cost, high-speed rail in China continues to divide opinion.

The unveiling of high ticket prices for a new high-speed line set to open on Friday is garnering a new slew of controversy as many plan trips during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays that run from September 30 to October 7.

Bullet trains on the Zhengzhou-Wuhan line, which also helps to connect several other major cities with existing lines in central and southern China, will run up to 300 km per hour and cut travel times by more than half. The downside is that prices for high-speed train tickets are about three times those for standard trains.

The high-speed train services are clearly better travel options for those who care little about the costs. Tickets around the busy travel season sold out soon after becoming available for booking.

A microblgger under the name of "tinybin" wrote on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like service, that he often buy full-price air tickets during holidays, so he will consider the new, cheaper alternative.

The new line also offers a better option for people who don't like to spend a long time traveling or those who have a phobia of flying.

"It's very good news for people like me who fear air travel, "wrote a poster going by the name "Heibaipeipyf."

But for many low-income earners, particularly migrant workers, the high-speed train services are expensive.

The high ticket prices, coupled with a reduction in slower but cheaper train services, triggered a torrent of public complaints.

High-speed rail was supposed to be a good thing as it offers a new option, wrote a user of Sina Weibo under the name "Fanluntiannu."

"But after seeing the high prices, I was torn between choosing high-speed trains and flights for quite a while," the microblogger wrote.

Expensive fares have already led to high vacancy rates on many high-speed trains running on currently operational lines, leaving many slower trains packed with passengers without any seats.

A photo of a crammed train carriage with many standing and sitting in the aisle posted on Sina Weibo on Tuesday has prompted many to call again for a rethink of high-speed train ticket pricing policies.

"I hope the nation will show more care toward these people by lowering the prices of bullet train tickets a bit. Blessings to the good people far away from home," commented netizen "Lixiyougu" to the photo posting.

"Each year before the traditional Lunar New Year holiday, I often see rural migrants give up buying tickets when only high-speed train tickets are available," wrote "Tutuxixi." "The high prices leave them with no choice. It's very sad to see this kind of scene."

Many also said they would prefer to travel by air as flight tickets, discounted by about 50 percent on an average day, cost almost the same as high-speed rail services.

Even in the middle of last year, after the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway began operating, the public queried the price of tickets, complaining there was no opportunity to provide feedback on how pricey they were. The Ministry of Railways responded that the tickets were at trial prices and the initial operation period didn't need any price hearings.

"A network of high-speed railway lines has formed. Will it be that the ministry will let the initial operation go on and on?" a Sina Weibo poster nicknamed "Zhuluzhongyuan1111" questioned.

Even with an expanded web of railroads and upgraded computer systems, Chinese travelers still find it ironically difficult to buy train tickets for national holidays.

The upcoming extended "Golden Week" holiday, which starts on September 30 and runs through Oct 7, encompassing Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, has dumped a new test on railway authorities.

The Ministry of Railways (MOR) has upgraded its ticket booking website, 12306.cn, which was first opened late last year. However, it was met with sharp criticism as the site crashed periodically amid fielding hundreds of millions of page views daily before the holiday season.

One particular subject of complaint is the "queuing" - often, even after users submit orders, a reminder pops up saying they have to wait for half an hour to find out whether the orders are finalized and no success is guaranteed.

"Booking a ticket from the website is just as difficult as climbing Mount Qomolangma," one critic wrote on Twitter-style social networking site weibo.com.

To passengers and observers, it is certainly hard to understand why the website, with a reported investment of 330 million yuan (about $49 million), failed to function properly like major online retailers do with similar number of visits.

The MOR says visitor flow to 12306.cn neared 1.5 billion page views at peak times. However, given China's population of 1.3 billion, this challenge could surely have been anticipated and worked on.

Some have questioned whether corruption has hamstrung the new website project, the bid for which was made by Taiji Computer Co, Ltd. and Tsinghua Tongfang Co, Ltd. for technical support, affirming the public's lack of confidence in the transparency of railway departments.

One rule peculiar to the Chinese railway system and widely believed to be the culprit for difficult ticketing is that passengers are only allowed to start purchasing tickets 10 days ahead of the departure date, which always triggers a rush to booking sites on the first day of availability.

Unlike sales of air tickets in China, train tickets may only be bought at agents designated by the MOR and its official booking website. Loosening its monopoly and allowing professional online ticket agents to compete is believed to be the key to solving the lingering problem.

The MOR has listed various reasons why it has not been able to "open up" ticket distribution to competitors, citing management difficulties and technical barriers, but if it insists on a tight grip, the ministry really needs to work hard on its own distribution channel, probably by learning from counterparts in developed countries.

Repeated complaints from a billion or so passengers whenever major holidays arrive will only undermine the public's opinion of capabilities and further, credibility of the railway authorities.
 

China’s Ministry of Railways (MOR) recently revamped its 12306.cn website for buying train tickets, but the project has widely been regarded as a colossal failure. That failure didn’t come cheap, either, as the government is said to have spent RMB 330 million ($52 million) developing the website.

The 12306 website had a disappointing launch before the 2011 Chinese New Year festival, which is known for being a difficult time to travel as millions of citizens head back to their home towns for the holiday. The government promised to improve the system and it went back to the drawing board, eventually relaunching the site in September in advance of the country’s National Day, the second-biggest travel period of the year.

The new site proved to be yet another debacle receiving numerous complaints of unsuccessful logins and failed ticket purchases. It also added a baffling feature that has customers wait in a virtual line. Train ticket lines in China can be a trying experience, as documented in the 2009 film “Last Train Home “, so bringing the wait into cyberspace has not proved to be popular.

Tea Leaf Nation reported earlier this week that the website’s poor performance has attracted calls for the MOR to disclose the bidding process and financial information surrounding the project. Several citizens, including lawyers and professors, have submitted Freedom of Administrative Information forms and shared their requests on Chinese social media.

The ministry is now taking steps to explain itself in hopes of toning down some of the current public opposition, as noted by the Beijing News. The agency said that it put out the call for bids on the website in accordance with local regulations. Seven companies or work units submitted proposals. Five of those were deemed eligible, and Taiji Computer Corporation and Tongfang Corporation were selected. However, critics have questioned whether those companies were the best fit for the job, suggesting instead that they simple had close ties to the ministry.

Though the MOR declined to provide specific financial information about the project, it did say that it will respond to information requests from the public. The department is currently arranging replies for current outstanding applications.

The Ministry of Railways is already fighting an uphill battle, as it doesn’t have the best reputation for honest dealings. A former head of the ministry was found guilty of corruption last year and was also held responsible for a high-profile train crash that caused 40 deaths. Several other high-ranking officials were also investigated for corruption after the incident.
 

China's railway police have launched a nationwide crackdown on ticket scalping, theft and other irregularities infringing upon travelers' legal rights during the upcoming holidays.

The campaign aims to "provide sound public order" for travelers during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays running from September 30-October 7, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Ministry of Railways' Public Security Bureau, which is supervised by the Ministry of Public Security.

The holidays will witness a large influx of travelers to railway stations around scenic spots, as well as homecomings for family reunions, the statement pointed out, adding police should run inspections at key entrances of railway stations and prevent fires and explosive accidents.

Police will target those defrauding travelers by selling fake railway tickets and crack down on crimes using fake ticket purchasing websites or phone numbers to deceive buyers, it said, adding the current real-name registration system has helped curb ticket scalping to some degree.

China's railway police have launched a nationwide crackdown on ticket scalping, theft and other irregularities infringing upon travelers' legal rights during the upcoming holidays.

The campaign aims to "provide sound public order" for travelers during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays running from September 30-October 7, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Ministry of Railways' Public Security Bureau, which is supervised by the Ministry of Public Security.

The holidays will witness a large influx of travelers to railway stations around scenic spots, as well as homecomings for family reunions, the statement pointed out, adding police should run inspections at key entrances of railway stations and prevent fires and explosive accidents.

Police will target those defrauding travelers by selling fake railway tickets and crack down on crimes using fake ticket purchasing websites or phone numbers to deceive buyers, it said, adding the current real-name registration system has helped curb ticket scalping to some degree.