On December 3, CNR Changchun Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd held a ceremony to celebrate the final batch of EMU fleet to Australia EDI into the final assembly process. Total 79 fleets were manufactured as per Australia railways standard design.

 

In the past two years, 62 double-deck coaches formally put into operation gradually replaced the original old Sydney railway passenger trains. These vehicles travelling in Sydney and the surrounding cities, along with the Sydney Opera House, Harbor Bridge, become iconic elements of this beautiful city.

 

Due to CNR’s excellent manufacturing workmanship, in 2012, these EDI stainless steel double-deck coaches were awarded "best production of the year" in Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

BEIJING's metro network reached 465km on December 28 with the start of public services on two new sections of Line 8, which links the city centre with the northern suburbs.

 

The 3.2km southern extension of the line from Guloudajie to an interchange with the east-west Line 6 at Nanluoguxiang includes two new stations, while a 6.3km three-station northern extension beyond Huilongguan Dongdajie takes the line to an interchange with the Changping suburban metro line at Zhuxinzhuang.

 

The completion of the two extensions takes the total length of Line 8 to 26.6km. The initial section of the line opened in 2008 as part of the city's preparations for the 2008 summer Olympic Games.

 

The Beijing metro network is expected to expand by a further 62km in 2014 with the completion of new sections of lines 6, 7, 14, and 15.

 

According to local press reports, the network carried an average of 8.76 million passengers per day between January and November, quoting figures from the city's transport commission, which show daily traffic peaked at 11.06 million passengers during this period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On December 5, the signing ceremony of the Congo (DRC) multimodal transport project using World Bank loans to purchase diesel electric locomotive was held in Kinshasa, Congo (DRC). Bank of Congo (DRC) with CNR and Shandong foreign economic consortium of groups signed the contract for 18 diesel-electric locomotives.

 

Recent years, CNR Beijing Feb. 7th Railway Transportation Equipment Co., Ltd strengthen the force of developing international market, 28 locomotives were signed for export in the year 2013. Total accumulated 215 locomotives delivered to different countries till now.

 

 

 

  

 

CHINA has marked the final days of 2013 by opening a number of high-speed lines in various parts of the country totalling 1501km.

 

The southeastern coastal high-speed line from Shanghai via Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Xiamen to Shenzhen has been completed with the opening of the southern 502km section from Xiamen to Shenzhen. The maximum design speed on this corridor is 350km/h north of Ningbo and 250km/h south of there. The final section of the 2078km east-west high-speed line linking Shanghai, Wuhan and Chengdu was opened on December 28 following the completion of the 264km 200km/h link from Lichuan to Chongqing.

 

The 455km Zhengzhou - Xi'an high-speed line was extended a further 148km west to Baoji on December 28. These are the first two sections to be completed of a 1363km line with a design speed of 350km/h linking Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and Lanzhou. Construction of the entire line is expected to be finished in 2017.

 

The Guangxi Coastal Railway in southern China has also been opened. This 261km line, with a maximum design speed of 350km/h, links Nanning, Qinzhou, and Fangchenggang with a branch from Qinzhou to Beihai.

 

Two other lines opened on December 28: the 103km 250km/h Maoming – Zhanjiang line, and the 223km Liuzhou – Nanning Intercity Railway with a design speed of 250km/h.

 

 

 

 

A ground breaking ceremony was held in Shenzhen last week to mark the start of construction of MTR Corporation's first "rail-plus-property" project in mainland China.

 

The mixed residential/commercial development is located on top of the train depot serving Shenzhen metro's Longhua Line which is operated by a subsidiary of MTR.

 

"We are delighted to be pioneering the well-proven 'rail-plus-property' model in the mainland," said MTR's chairman Dr Raymond K F Ch'ien. "We believe this project will not only drive forward development of the community in Longhua District but also contribute to the sustainable urban development of Shenzhen overall."

 

The new development, which is scheduled for completion in 2016, includes 1700 apartments and a shopping mall. Future residents will have all-weather pedestrian access to Longsheng metro station on the Longhua Line.

 

MTR won the bid for the site above Longhua depot for a premium of about Yuan 2bn ($US 330m) in August 2011. The total investment in the project is estimated at Yuan 4bn.

 

"The integrated development model has provided Hong Kong with high quality, sustainable communities conveniently linked to our rail network," said MTR's CEO Mr Jay Walder. MTR has used its "rail-plus-property" model in Hong Kong to help fund the construction of new lines once they have been completed. The provision of apartments above metro stations also helps to increase ridership.

 

 

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On December 17, under the arrangement of China Railway Corporation, Thailand media delegation visited CNR Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd. and ride the next day CRH380BL high speed train of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway from Beijing to Shanghai.

 

All members of Thailand media express that they will introduce what they have seen and feeling in China to Thailand people after return home.

 

 

 

 

THE Chinese city of Zhengzhou celebrated the opening of its first metro line on December 26, the 26.3km east-west Line 1 from Xiliuhu to City Sports Centre.

 

The line runs entirely underground, has 20 stations and is served by a fleet of six-car Type B metro vehicles supplied by CSR Zhuzhou. Line 1 is expected to carry a peak of 100,000 passengers per day during holidays.

 

This is the first metro line in the world to utilise 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. Initially the network is using the platform for CCTV and passenger information services, but the system's supplier Huawei says tests are underway to host the network's CBTC signalling system with a view to adopting it by the end of the year.

 

Zhengzhou Metro Company plans to invest Yuan 10.2bn ($US 1.68bn) in its metro network development plan, with construction of the initial 19km, 16-station section of the north-south Line 2, 17.25km of which is underground, underway and expected to open in 2015. Construction of the 40.8km east-west Line 3 is set to commence later this year and be completed by 2018, while work on the 35.3km Z-shaped Line 4 will start in 2015 and open in 2020, and Line 5, a 41.8km ring line, which has received funding from the World Bank, will be completed in 2016.

 

China will open a high-speed rail line to the North Korean border next year, state media said on Thursday, in a sign that China remains committed to boosting trade and economic ties with the isolated, nuclear-armed state.

 

The line, under construction since 2010, will run 207 km (127 miles) from Shenyang to the border city of Dandong, which faces North Korea across the Yalu River, and will shorten the train journey from 3 1/2 hours to one hour, the official Xinhua news agency said.

 

As much as 80 per cent of trade between China and North Korea passes through Dandong, which is near one of North Korea's special economic zones on Hwanggumpyong island.

 

China has encouraged the development of three special economic zones in North Korea, hoping to tap low labour costs and encourage the North to see the benefits of economic reform, even while publicly rebuking it over its nuclear weapons programme.

 

China has stepped up checks on shipments to and from North Korea following its third nuclear test last year, but has shown no sign of cutting the country off completely, lest the impoverished state collapse, bringing with it a destabilising wave of refugees.

 

While there has been little sign of progress in the new economic zones, China continues to improve infrastructure on its side of the border, including building a bridge from Dandong into North Korea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 13th Economic Forum was held in Beijing on December 25.

 

China Economic Forum is a high-end large forum jointly organized by People's Daily, China Economic Weekly and the information centre of SASAC to explore economic development of China. It is also a leading brand organization composed of the NPC and the CPPCC, relevant ministries, international organizations and other agencies under the State Council together with the participation of parliamentary bodies in China.

 

"Economic upgrading and innovation-driven" is as the theme of this forum and issued “The 2013 report on China's economic transformation and upgrading”. People's daily editor-in-Chief Mr. Yang Zhenwu and Deputy Director of SASAC Mr. Huang Danhua made opening remarks on behalf the organizers respectively. Mr. Cheng Siwei, former Vice Chairman of the NPC, and Chairman of the academic Committee of the Forum on China's economy, Mr. Li Yining, a renowned economist, former Director General of the National Energy Board, Mr. Zhang Guobao, the famous jurist Mr. Jiang Ping and Mr. Ji Xiaonan, Chairman of State-owned assets supervision supervisory board around forum topics have keynotes. Business and political community of more than 200 people attended the Forum.

 

Relevant topics of the Forum are direct broadcasted by People's daily online, Tencent news, Sina and China News Network.

 

Several most representative Executives in China are invited by the Forum to participate the live broadcast of high-end dialogue. They are Mr. Yu Weiping Vice President of CNR, Mr. Cui Weicheng overall and integrated Deputy Chief Designer, Ms. Dong Mingzhu Chairman of the board of Gree Electric Appliances Co., Mr. Liu Mingzhong Chairman of the board of XINXING CATHAY INTERNATIONAL GROUP, Mr. Cong Lin President of ICBC Leasing Co., Mr. Hu Caiyong President of Beijing Software and Information Service Exchange Co. and Mr. Li Jun President of Sugon Information Industry Co.

 

Mr. Yu Weiping introduced achievements of CNR in the recent years. He said that CNR achieved excellent in transformation and upgrading innovation stronger. According to SCI Verkehr, a famous Germany consulter, assessment of the world's leading rating agencies, in 2010, CNR is ranked third in the world rail industry. But in 2011 and 2012, for two consecutive years, CNR is ranked top position in the world.

 

Chinese manufacture capacity of high-speed train is number one in the world and Chinese high-speed railway is also quite safety. At moment, China has over 10,000 km HSR with the span length of more than 3,000 kilometers. This is not same as in Europe, for whole Europe together do not exceed 10,000 km. Up to now, CNR has delivered 524 high-speed trains, which are running well in China and has accumulated the safety mile record of up to 520 million kilometers.

 

CNR has realized changes from simple product manufacturing and after services, into provide transportation solutions for future urban. Such as Hunnan trams BOT project in Shenyang city. CNR is not just supply trams, but also in charge for planning, design, construction, including joint operation management.

 

In 2000, CNR oversea business volume is only $ 50 million. Now it is expected to reach about $ 1.5 billion in this year, which is growing 30 times. This is the result of upgraded, of course, is innovation and transformation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smart and modern, trains on Shanghai's new line 16 reach up to 120km (74.5 miles) per hour. The line's opening this week, along with a partial stretch of line 12, makes the city's metro system the first in the world to cover a total length of more than 500km.

 

Passengers we spoke to were delighted with the ever-growing network, which now extends far into the suburbs despite the first bit of track having been laid little more than 20 years ago.

 

But with dozens of other Chinese cities now expanding or building their own metro systems, some observers have raised doubts about the cost of it all. If nothing else, it's a sign that there's little let up in big government spending despite all the talk of the need to re-balance China's economy.

 

The debate will rumble on. For now, let us save you the 8 yuan ($1.30) fare it costs to travel the 52km from one end to the other on line 16.

 

Hop onboard the newest part of the world's biggest subway system.

 

 

 

 

 

The subway authorities in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, have apologized to a vision-impaired woman for initially barring her guide dog from entering the subway.

 

Chen Yan, a piano tuner, and her guide dog Jenny attempted to board a subway train at the Tonghuimen station on December 10, 2103, but were prevented from doing so by subway staff because Chen was unable to produce the dog's birth, adoption and domestication certificates.

 

She then posted details of the incident online. Less than three hours later, the Chengdu Metro apologized and said that guide dogs are welcome on Chengdu's subway.

 

The incident has drawn attention to public transportation accessibility for the disabled. Chen and Jenny later flew out of Chengdu and Chen said that it took her about 40 minutes to finish the airport check-in and boarding procedures.

 

"Usually it takes just a few minutes to check in but this is the first time that we have done the procedure for a guide dog," an airport staff member explained.

 

"China only uses Labradors and golden retrievers as guide dogs and it usually takes two years of strict training and tests before a guide dog can be fully qualified," said an employee of the China Guide Dog Training Center (CGDTC) in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

 

"About 20 percent of the dogs will make it through the training. The rest are disqualified because they aren't patient enough or because they bark too much and show aggressive tendencies," said the employee. "To date there has not been an incident of a guide dog biting people."

 

"Guide dogs are still a new concept in China and there are few of them in the country. People need to get used to the idea because having a guide dog is the right of all vision-impaired people," says Zhang Dongwang from the China Disabled Persons' Federation.

 

There are only 50 guide dogs for the country's 17.31 million visually impaired people, according to figures released by the China Blind People's Association in 2013.

 

Aside from the lack of guide dogs, facilities for the disabled in China remain underdeveloped, with even the tactile paving on roadsides proving hazardous thanks to lax government management that sees many stretches of this paving illegally occupied by bikes, street restaurants and market stalls.

 

"I seldom go out because it is too dangerous," said Zhang Haiyang, a vision-impaired massage therapist in Chengdu. "Although it's a short walk from my home to where I work, it can be dangerous for me because the tactile paving is usually occupied by illegally parked vehicles and electric bicycles."

 

In addition, the tactile paving is often laid only on the roadsides and does not actually lead to buildings along the roads.

 

"The main reason for this is the lack of a supervisory mechanism," said Vice President of Chengdu Blind Person's Association Wang Jun. "Public areas and traffic lights also lack voice guidance for the vision-impaired, making the outside environment a dangerous one for the blind."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some passengers were observed eating in Shanghai's subway cars on Thursday, the first working day after a measure frowning on the practice took effect.

 

The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority is asking passengers to avoid eating while riding, but also to refrain from other behavior that could annoy their fellow travelers.

 

The new measure covers skating in stations, carrying super-size luggage, smoking and a host of other acts. It was approved in December and took effect on Jan 1.

 

Of all the topics, eating was the most controversial. After heated debate about whether a ban should be written into regional regulations, which carry the force of law and include penalties, the authorities compromised.

 

As enacted, the new rule asks passengers to avoid eating in train cars as a matter of courtesy to others. It does not require them to refrain, nor is any penalty imposed for noncompliance. Eating inside subway stations was not banned.

 

Supporters said that passengers who eat on train cars annoy others with unwanted odors and make messes with spilled food or beverages.

 

Opponents, by contrast, said the fast pace of big cities squeezes people's time and makes it hard to get a proper meal. Authorities should be more tolerant of those who need to dine on the train, they said.

 

Nationwide, cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Nanjing have enacted similar rules to ban eating in subway cars. Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, is the only city so far to use a regional law to clamp down on the practice.

 

In Shanghai, a random survey by China Daily on Thursday morning found that people were largely unaware of the new guideline, though many said they were willing to abide by it.

 

Not everyone thought it was a good idea.

 

"Society should be more tolerant of those having to eat on the train," said Wu Fangcheng, 27, an IT company employee who was having bread and milk inside the Changshu Road station on Line 1.

 

He said he preferred to spend more time sleeping in the morning, even if that meant crunching his time for breakfast. But the arrangement is less than ideal.

 

"If possible, who would not sit down with their loved ones to have a decent breakfast? It's not comfortable to eat in a swaying train," he said.

 

Another passenger, who was having a sandwich and yogurt on Line 7, said he was not aware of the rule but would like to follow it.

 

"The request won't cause much problem for me. I usually finish my breakfast at the station in a very short time," said the man, who declined to be identified.

 

Bert Quintens, a tourist from Belgium, said he doesn't find eating by fellow passengers offensive. "In Belgium, eating on public transportation is also prohibited, but people keep ignoring the rule," he said. "Nobody would stop them, and it is very hard to do so. I think it is acceptable as long as you don't leave any garbage."

 

A dispatch operator at the Changshu Road station, surnamed Yang, said on Thursday that he will intervene to block some discourteous acts in the subway such as smoking or boarding with a pet, but he will not step into a car to stop someone from eating.

 

Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, the sole operator of the city's subway network, gave no specific directions as to enforcement of the new rule, Yang said. "It is OK as long as no one complains about it."

 

Wu Junshang, a manager of passenger service at the Shanghai Metro Operation Management Center, said the no-eating rule may not be very effective since it is not compulsory. At the same time, it would hard to enforce if it is included in the regional law, Wu said.

 

On Thursday morning, shops and vendors selling food inside or near subway stations in Shanghai were still popular.

 

One vendor near the Zhaojiangbang Road station on Line 7, who gave her name as Zhang, said she was sold out of rice rolls (she started with 40) by 9 am.

 

"It's because there is a large passenger flow on the first working day after a holiday, and the warm weather makes people willing to stop and buy food," she said.

 

Qian Zhaocheng, a commentator, said authorities should consider the needs of different groups of passengers. He does not support a law that reaches too far — such as a broad ban on eating in subway cars — he said.

 

"It's not people's own choice," he said. "The great pressure of living requires many people to spend their dining time on the subway."

 

 

 

It seems like just yesterday that foreign companies from Japan, Germany and France crammed into Chinese boardrooms to bid on high-speed rail projects. Yet, today, it's Chinese state firms that are bidding on – and winning – similar projects abroad, such as the ones secured late last year in Central and Eastern Europe.

 

The development doesn't just epitomize the Chinese government's vigorous “going out” policy, which has pushed state-backed companies and private enterprises alike onto the international stage. The quick turnaround time demonstrates China's vast exploits after more than 10 years of mandatory technology transfers for many foreign companies wishing to manufacture on the mainland.

 

At the time, companies scrambled to get into China, giving up decades worth of technological secrets for the promise of future access to the market. Now, the same companies are competing against their own technology and a rival that can greatly undercut prices for major international projects.

 

Nowhere is this more evident than in the global market for high-speed rail.

 

Siemens and ThyssenKrupp began building the Shanghai Maglev train in 2001. The line, which levitates on magnets and has always operated at a loss, was China's first attempt to get its hands on high-speed rail technology. Both companies were required to transfer to a Chinese partner some of the techniques used on the line if they were to secure the contract.

 

In 2004, Japan's Kawasaki, Germany's Bombardier Transportation and France's Alstom bid on high-speed rail projects in China. The companies were required to partner with Chinese firms. Fast forward a decade and China has laid more than 12,000 kilometers of rail using the technology it's learned from these partners. Lucrative are now kept inside the country. In December, China’s two biggest train makers, CSR and China CNR, won bids for 258 bullet trains, which could be worth as much as US$7.3 billion.

 

The ownership of the rail technology China has acquired and re-engineered during the past decade is centralized squarely in the hands of China Railway Corporation, helping the country streamline projects at home and, more recently, abroad.

 

“In other countries it is difficult to export all the technologies since they are controlled by different companies,” Ji Jialun, a professor at the School of Traffic and Transportation at Beijing Jiaotong University, said. But in China, given the central nature of technology ownership, the state can act as a negotiator for projects such as these.

 

That's exactly what Premier Li Keqiang did in November during a visit to Eastern Europe. China will partner with Serbia and Hungary to construct a high-speed rail line between the capitals of the two countries. During the same trip, Li also sold a Chinese partnership to construct rail lines in Romania.

 

China's first international high-speed rail deal, a line in Saudi Arabia agreed to in 2009, is set to launch this year, state media has reported. Chinese rail engineers are at work in countries such as Thailand, Russia, Laos and the US. The deals are attractive to foreign countries because China not only builds them for a low price, it finances the projects too.

 

“They [European countries] can get more low-cost, competitive products and their financial pressure is alleviated,” said Li Hongchang, associate professor at the School of Economics and Management of Beijing Jiaotong University. “For China, we get more shares in the international high-technology products market, which will help to drive national industrial development.”

 

Of course, high-speed rail is just one of several industries where China learned the ropes quickly from foreign firms and turned that technology back on the world. When Chinese government officials go abroad, they advertise nuclear power, telecommunications and satellite technology among a growing repertoire of marketable skills. And always at rockbottom prices.

 

Foreign companies are sure to reflect deeply on the past decade, where they gave up their secrets for market access, only to get out-priced on the same products just a few years later.