Premier Li Keqiang has opened an exhibition in Bangkok with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, promoting a high-speed railway that would link China, Thailand and Singapore.

 

The proposed railway would be able to carry passengers from Kunming in China to Singapore in less than 12 hours. The exhibition also displays the history of high-speed trains in China.

 

Earlier, the Chinese Premier met with Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Li said China is looking for fresh cooperation in major areas that match the two countries development strategies. The princess said she has a special feeling toward China as she has visited the country more than 30 times. She said she hoped China’s economy and bilateral ties will continue to develop.

 

 

 

 

 

Switzerland is known for exporting fine watches, while the most sophisticated machinery is believed to be found in Germany, but when it comes to a pleasant trip on a safe, comfortable high-speed train, the world is turning its eyes to China.

 

The high-speed train has raced along Chinese rails for about five years, on a journey from controversy to kudos. Now, based on years of technical advancement and time-tested practice, it is poised to flex its global muscles and pick up some international passengers.

 

During his state visit last month, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang gave China's high-speed railway technology the hard sell in Thailand, supported by an exhibition in Bangkok showing off the advanced technology, safety and cost advantages of the Chinese system.

 

China has built the world's longest and most heavily used high-speed railway network -- nearly 10,000 kilometers of it -- with trains continuously setting new speed records in test runs.

 

China's railway technology leads the world. Track technology, for example, means high-speed trains cross vast distances through loess, wetlands and alpine regions. Technical problems have been solved and safety is assured.

 

The margin for track error on the network is so tiny that it rivals Formula 1 race cars. The Beijing-Guangzhou line, at 2,298 kilometers the world's longest, wows the world. After more than a decade of research and innovation, China's railway has become a worldwide success story, but no success is earned without some controversy and doubt.

 

The bullet train accident in 2011 provided other high-speed train manufacturing countries with ample opportunity to belittle China's technological capability. However, poor management in train dispatch was blamed for the deadly crash and, as the two trains were both running at less than 100 kilometer per hour when they collided, the accident was not the result of "high-speed".

 

The crash brought a more cautious approach to high-speed rail development. Problems were discovered, faced and solved. One accident cannot derail the entire growth of a high-speed railway, and now trains have regained the confidence of the Chinese people with tickets often sold out on weekends and public holidays.

 

The fall of the former minister and other corrupt railway officials dealt another blow to high-speed rail development, bringing GDP-oriented concerns to its rapid expansion.

 

With six increases in the speed of conventional railway travel over past years, safety concerns left China's railways with little room to further up their speed, so new high-speed trains were the solution.

 

Waste was another target for criticism: would the high-speed trains be too expensive for most people? One glimpse into increasingly full compartments on high-speed lines tells you all you need to know: On weekends, public holidays, and students' summer and winter vacations, high-speed trains are packed.

 

More high-speed trains now shuttle between cities like buses as they become increasingly connected. It can be as short as a five minute wait for the next high speed train between Beijing and Tianjin. The shortest interval between trains is only three minutes between Wuhan and Guangzhou. Profits can be fairly anticipated with such a convenient network and growing passenger numbers.

 

Punctual, fast, and comfortable, high-speed trains have become a fast favorite in China, turning long-distance travel from an excruciating experience to an enjoyable one.

 

China's first high-speed train line -- Beijing and Tianjin -- has carried hundreds of international leaders and dignitaries, lauding its smoothness, comfort and speed since its launch in 2008.

 

As some foreigners put it, one can take Eurostar in Europe, the Shinkansen in Japan, and now the CRH -- China Railway High-speed-- in China. What is more, CRH is faster and links more cities.

 

As the Chinese high-speed railway network grows, it is high time that China exported its technology and expertise, probably starting with neighboring countries, where its advantages are suited to developing nations and will speed up progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Shanghai Metro Line 16 will open to the public in December as part of its ongoing trial operation, local media reported Wednesday.

 

The line runs from Luoshan Road Station at the eastern end of Line 11 to Dishui Lake Station near Lingang New City on the southeastern coast of Pudong New Area.

 

Metro operators have been testing Line 16 with empty trains for some time, according to a report on the news website ximin.cn.

 

Line 16's trains will have different seat arrangements than the trains on other metro lines, which all sport two inward-facing benches along each side of the train. On Line 16, the seats will face forward, which the metro operator said will make them more comfortable for passengers. The operator is considering other arrangements, such as putting three to five seats next to each other, according to the report.

 

There will be 46 city bus lines that have stops near Line 16's 11 stations. Each station will have at least one bus line nearby. Most will have more. East Huinan Station, for example, will have 17 bus lines.

 

The Dishui Lake Station will have five bus lines to serve passengers going to the nearby China Maritime Museum and Shanghai Ocean University.

 

 

 

  

 

THE TramWave catenary-free electrification system developed by Ansaldo STS is to be deployed in China for the first time after the Italian company concluded a €26m contract with CNR Equipment Engineering, which will see the technology installed on a new light rail in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

 

Ansaldo STS signed a strategic agreement last year licensing TramWave to a joint venture between the parent company of CNR Equipment Engineering and General Resources Company, Taiwan, allowing the system to be sold in China.

 

TramWave will be installed along the entire length of the 8.7km Zhuhai Line 1, making it the largest deployment of the technology to date.

 

TramWave uses a box embedded in the road surface containing a contact line that is only activated when an LRV passes overhead. A series of contact plates are fitted along the upper surface of the box at 50cm intervals, which feed power from a cable inside the box to the collector shoe fitted inside the vehicle bogie. The shoe is surrounded by an earthed safety ring, which operates whenever the LRV is drawing current from the modular boxes. The boxes also include a path for return currents, meaning the running rails do not need to be used for this purpose. Ansaldo STS says this means TramWave cancels the effects of stray currents, offering significant maintenance savings.

 

 

 

 

China has expressed interest in participating in Malaysia’s 330km-long Kuala Lumpur-Singa­pore high speed rail (HSR) link project.

 

China President Xi Jinping said the project, together with port development and other connectivity projects, were on top of their overseas investment ventures.

 

Earlier this year, Malaysia and Singapore announced plans for the rail link, which is expected to cut land travelling time between the two countries to just 90 minutes.

 

The project, targeted to be completed by 2020, is reported to cost about RM40billion (US$12.6 billion).

 

China’s investment in Malaysia was less than the other way around.

 

“Currently, China’s investment in our country is only about 10% of the US$6.3bil (RM20.05bil) of what Malay­sia invested in China,” Mustapa said.

 

China has already started to get some of the contracts for Thailands high speed rail system.

 

High Speed Rail could be built connecting Singapore to China through Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam

 

A high speed rail system across China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand would provide tight integration of China with the ASEAN economies. It would provide fast and relatively low cost movement of people and cargo.

 

China's high speed rail

 

China now has about 12000 km of high speed rail and not included is upgraded conventional rail.

 

In 2015 China will have 18,000km of high speed rail.

 

The plan is to expand this to 50,000km by 2020.

 

Just five years after China’s high-speed rail system opened, it is carrying nearly twice as many passengers each month as the country’s domestic airline industry. With traffic growing 28 percent a year for the last several years, China’s high-speed rail network will handle more passengers by early next year than the 54 million people a month who board domestic flights in the United States.

 

Currently, China's high-speed rail service costs significantly less than similar systems in developed countries, but is considerably more expensive than conventional rail service. For the 419 km (260 mi) trip from Beijing to Jinan, HSR costs CNY185 (US$30) and takes 1 hour 32 minutes, while a conventional train costs CNY73 (US$12) and takes about 6 hours.[13] By comparison, the Acela train from Washington DC to New York City covering a slightly shorter distance of 230 mi (370 km) costs US$152–180 (Y930) and takes 2 hour 50 minutes.

 

 

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Chinese cities are speeding up construction of subway lines as the increasing number of vehicles in urban areas has been largely blamed for smog.

 

Construction of six new subway lines in Beijing is expected to start by the end of this year with a total length of more than 90 km, including downtown lines and lines linking suburban areas with the downtown, according to the railway construction company.

 

Currently, there are 17 subway lines running in Beijing with a total length of 456 km. The city's underground network carries approximately 10 million passengers daily on workdays.

 

Apart from big names like Beijing and Shanghai, less populated large cities, such as Nanchang, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Hefei, Nanning, Chongqing, Chengdu and Kunming, are also constructing or operating urban railway lines.

 

There are 35 Chinese cities engaged in such construction. Some 70 subway lines are currently being built, with a total investment of 800 billion yuan (131.28 billion U.S. dollars). Adding approved subway line construction plans, the spending reaches 1.5 trillion yuan.

 

As winter is approaching, air pollution has been clearly visible in many regions of China. In an extreme case, dense smog shrouded major cities in northeast China last week, closing schools, highways and airports, with a visibility of less than 10 meters in certain areas.

 

Experts believe developing urban rail traffic is one of the solutions to help ease the situation, by getting people out of pollution-emitting cars.

 

According to research by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, vehicle exhaust fumes contribute 22.2 percent of PM 2.5 particles in Beijing, exceeding the figure for industrial emissions.

 

PM 2.5 are airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can pose health risks.

 

Lei Xiaoyan, a professor with East China Jiaotong University, said cities which are equivalent to mid-sized cities abroad should develop rail traffic.

 

In Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, five subway lines are being constructed, with a total length of 168 km, according to Hu Mengda, deputy chief engineer with the city's rail construction company.

 

Provincial capitals with large populations, such as Nanchang, serve as cores in less developed central and western regions, and rail traffic is necessary there, but smaller cities have to consider whether their population will be large enough to support the operation of the subway lines in the future, said Hu. "For them, a subway is a luxury."

 

 

 

 

MTR Corporation unveiled the first of nine high-speed trains for the Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Hong Kong Express Rail Link (ERL) on November 6.

 

The 350km/h emus, which are based on the Chinese CRH380A, are being supplied by CSR Qingdao Sifang, China, under $HK 1.7bn ($US 219m) contract signed last year. Each eight-car set will seat 579 passengers.

 

The trains will be used on high-speed shuttle services to Shenzhen and Guangzhou and will operate at a maximum of 200km/h on the 26km Hong Kong section of the ERL, which is due to open in 2015.

 

MTR says the sweeping orange exterior livery has been designed to represent the dragon, a symbol of China.

 

The first train will undergo tests on the Chinese network before being delivered to Hong Kong in April.

 

MARUBENI and Toshiba announced on November 6 that they have been awarded a contract to supply and maintain electrical and mechanical systems for the Bangkok Metro Purple Line, which is due to open in 2017.

 

The deal includes rolling stock, power distribution equipment, signalling and train control, and telecommunications systems. The fleet of 63 metro cars will be manufactured by Japan Transport Engineering Company (J-Trec), a subsidiary of East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

 

The Purple Line will run for 23.5km from Bang Yai in Nonthaburi province, northwest of Bangkok, to Bang Sue. The project is being developed by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) as a Public Private Partnership funded by Japanese government yen credits. Thai construction company Ch. Karnchang is building the line, which will be operated by Bangkok Metro (BMCL).

 

Marubeni and Toshiba will maintain the train fleet and electrical systems under a 10-year contract with BMCL. A new company will be set up in Bangkok to provide these services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMAN is planning to commence construction of the country's inaugural railway project in the fourth quarter of 2014.

 

Mr Salim bin Said bin Salim Alami, assistant director general at the transport ministry, told Reuters on October 30 that Oman Railway Company, which will manage and operate the network, will award contracts for various project packages, including the project management consultancy, next year.

 

The proposed 2244km network, which is estimated to cost $US 15bn to build, will link the desert town of Buraimi, which borders the United Arab Emirates, with six major Omani settlements including the industrial city of Sohar. Italferr is carrying out preliminary design of the network which the Omani government expects to be operational by 2018.

 

"Our vision in this project is to help the logistics industry and trade, a significant GDP player in Oman, and to connect ports to the GCC as best we can," Alami said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) celebrated the introduction of its first long-distance double-deck coaches at Moscow Kazan station on November 1, with the launch of the new vehicles on overnight services from Moscow to Adler.

 

Tver Carriage Works is supplying 50 of the vehicles to RZD subsidiary Federal Passenger Company (FPC), including 38 four-berth compartment coaches, four double-berth compartment coaches, four staff coaches and four dining cars.

 

The introduction of the new coaches will provide additional capacity on services between Moscow and Krasnodar for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which will be held in Sochi.

 

 

 

 

 

ALGIERS Metro Enterprise (EMA) announced on October 30 that it has selected a consortium of Alstom and Turkish construction company Yapi Merkezi as preferred bidder for the contract to build the first phase of the light rail network in the city of Setif, 270km east of Algiers.

 

The total value of the contract will be around €380m, although the deal must be approved by Algeria's National Commission before it reaches financial close.

 

The first phase comprises two lines, one running 15.5km from the city centre to serve the eastern suburbs and the other running 7.2km south from the city centre to Ain Trick. The line is expected to open in 2017.

 

According to local press reports, other bidders included a consortium of Astaldi and Cofely Ineo; a Spanish joint venture of Corsano Corviam and Isolux; and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).

 

Alstom has already been awarded contracts by EMA to equip light rail ines in Algiers, Oran and Constantine, while Yapi Merkezi is constructing the first light rail line in Sidi Bel Abbes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NORTHERN Integrated Logistics Corridor (Clin), a joint venture between Brazilian mining company Vale (80%) and Mozambique Ports and Railway (CFM) (20%), has selected Siemens to supply the signalling and train control system for the 912km Nacala Corridor.

 

Siemens will supply its Train Sentinel Positive Train Control (PTC) system for the line, the first PTC application in Africa, as well as train monitoring, Westrace interlockings, and a telecommunications network based on a microwave network with Tetra system for track-to-train data transmission. The contract, which is worth around €70m, also includes equipping the operations control centre in Nacala and maintaining and servicing signalling equipment for one year. Commissioning is scheduled for 2015.

 

The line will run from the coal-rich Moatize region of Mozambique via Malawi to a new port at Nacala-a-Velha and two new sections of railway are being built; a new 210km line in Malawi and a short section from Mossuril to Ponta Mamuaxi close to Nacala. Under the terms of the concession agreed with the Mozambique government in July 2012, Clin will provide $US 1.5bn towards the cost of the new and rehabilitated sections of the 1067mm-gauge line.

 

Work on the corridor is set to be completed in 2015 at which point it will have capacity to carry 40 million tonnes of coal per year, 30 million of which will be available to Vale, and 10 million tonnes for other mining operators or to allow passenger services.

 

 

 

WARSAW Tramways has secured a Zlotys 285m ($US 91.9m) grant from the European Union (EU) which will be used to finance the acquisition of 80 low-floor LRVs from Pesa Bydgoszcz.

 

The Zlotys 593m investment comprises 45 bidirectional Jazz Duo vehicles; five additional Swing 120Na vehicles, an option from an initial contract for 186 LRVs

 

Warsaw Tramways announced on October 25 that Pesa was the only bidder for the contract to supply the unidirectional vehicles, having submitted an offer of Zlotys 185.4m. The vehicles will be equipped with an onboard energy storage system and two vehicles will be adapted for driver training. They will delivered between the first and third quarters of 2015.

 

The orders are being financed through the EU's Operational Programme, Infrastructure and Environment.