high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

China Railway Corporation China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

China Railway High-speed China Railway High-speed (CRH) is a high-speed rail service operated by China Railway in addition to China Railway's older Classic Rail services. The introduction of CRH series was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup, impleme ...

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.Shanghai Maglev is the world's first high-speed commercial

magnetic levitation Magnetic levitation (maglev) or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is levitation (physics), suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Lorentz force, Magnetic force is used to counteract the effects of the gravitation ...

(maglev) line that reaches a top speed of . The economics of high-speed rail in China has been a topic of much discussion. A 2019 study produced by TransFORM, a knowledge platform developed by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and China’s Ministry of Transport, estimated the annual rate of economic return of China's high-speed rail network in 2015 to be at 8%, which is well above the

opportunity cost In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of a choice is the value of the best alternative forgone where, given limited resources, a choice needs to be made between several mutually exclusive alternatives. Assuming the best choice is made, ...

of capital in China for major long term infrastructure investments. The study also noted a range of benefits which included shortened travel times, improved safety and better facilitation of tourism, labor and mobility, as well as reducing highway congestion, accidents and greenhouse emissions as some automobile travellers switch from car use to rail. A 2020 study by

Paulson Institute The Paulson Institute is a non-profit organization. Founded in 2011 by former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., it is based in Chicago with offices in Washington and Beijing. An independent “think and do tank” dedicated to fosteri ...

has estimated the net benefit of the high-speed rail system to be approximately $378 billion, with an annual

return on investment Return on investment (ROI) or return on costs (ROC) is the ratio between net income (over a period) and investment (costs resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time). A high ROI means the investment's gains compare favorab ...

of 6.5%.

Definition and terminology

High-speed rail in China is officially defined as "newly-built passenger-dedicated rail lines designed for electrical multiple unit (EMU) train sets traveling at not less than (including lines with reserved capacity for upgrade to the standard) on which initial service operates at not less than ." EMU train sets have no more than 16

railcars A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car, railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled Rail transport, railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a trai ...

with

axle load The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight bearing on the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Axle load is an important design consideration in the engineering of roadways and railways, as both are designed to tolerate a m ...

not greater than 17

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

and a

headway Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise definition varies depending on ...

of three minutes or less. Thus, high-speed rail service in China requires high-speed EMU train sets to be providing passenger service on high speed rail lines at speeds of not less than . EMU trains operating on non-high speed track or otherwise but at speeds below are not considered high-speed rail. Certain mixed use freight and passenger rail lines, that can be upgraded for train speeds of , with current passenger service of at least , are also considered high-speed rail. In common parlance, high-speed train service in China generally refers to G-, D- and C-class passenger train service. * G-class () train service generally features EMU trains running on passenger-dedicated high-speed rail lines and operating at top speeds of at least . For example, the G7 train from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao, which runs on the Beijing–Shanghai HSR, a line with an operating speed of . * D-class () train service features EMU trains running at lower speeds, whether on high-speed or non-high-speed track. D-class trains can vary widely in actual trip speed. The non-stop D211 train from Guiyang East to Guangzhou South on the Guiyang–Guangzhou HSR, a line with designed speed of , averages for the trip. The D312 EMU sleeper train between Beijing South and Shanghai on the non-high speed

Beijing–Shanghai railway The Beijing–Shanghai railway or Jinghu railway () is a railway line between Beijing and Shanghai. The line has a total length of and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, ...

averages for the trip. * C-class () train services that operate on high-speed track at speeds above are also considered high-speed rail service. For example, C-class trains on the Beijing–Tianjin ICR reach top speeds of and complete the trip in 30 mins. High-speed ridership statistics in China are often reported as the number of passengers carried by high-speed EMU train sets, and such figures typically include passengers on EMU trains operating on non-high speed track or at service speeds below .

History

Precursor

The earliest example of a fast commercial train service in China was the

Asia Express The ''Asia Express'' (, ) was a super express passenger train operated by the South Manchuria Railway (''Mantetsu'') from 1934 until 1943. This limited express, which began operation in November 1934 and was Mantetsu's most iconic train, operate ...

, a luxury passenger train that operated in Japanese-controlled

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

from 1934 to 1943.Louise Young. ''Japan's Total Empire''. Berkeley: University of California Press
1998. pp. 246–67. The steam-powered train, which ran on the

South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway (; ), officially , Mantetsu () or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian– Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun (called Xinjing from ...

from

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

to Xinjing (

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

), had a top commercial speed of and a test speed of . It was faster than the fastest trains in Japan at the time. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, this train model was renamed the SL-7 and was used by the Chinese Minister of Railways.

Early planning

State planning for China's current high-speed railway network began in the early 1990s under the leadership of

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

. He set up what became known as the "high-speed rail dream" after his visit to Japan in 1978, where he was deeply impressed by the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

, the world's first high speed rail system. In December 1990, the Ministry of Railways (MOR) submitted to the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

a proposal to build a high-speed railway between Beijing and Shanghai. At the time, the

Beijing–Shanghai Railway The Beijing–Shanghai railway or Jinghu railway () is a railway line between Beijing and Shanghai. The line has a total length of and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, ...

was already at capacity, and the proposal was jointly studied by the Science & Technology Commission, State Planning Commission, State Economic & Trade Commission, and the MOR. In December 1994, the State Council commissioned a feasibility study for the line. Policy planners debated the necessity and economic viability of high-speed rail service. Supporters argued that high-speed rail would boost future economic growth. Opponents noted that high-speed rail in other countries was expensive and mostly unprofitable. Overcrowding on existing rail lines, they said, could be solved by expanding capacity through higher speed and frequency of service. In 1995, Premier

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...

announced that preparatory work on the Beijing Shanghai HSR would begin in the 9th Five Year Plan (1996–2000), but construction was not scheduled until the first decade of the 21st century.

The "Speed Up" campaigns

In 1993, commercial train service in China averaged only and was steadily losing market share to

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

and highway travel on the country's expanding network of expressways. The MOR focused modernization efforts on increasing the service speed and capacity on existing lines through double-tracking,

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

, improving

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

(through tunnels and bridges), reducing turn curvature and installing

continuous welded rail Continuity or continuous may refer to: Mathematics * Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include ** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics ** Continuous ...

. Through five rounds of "Speed-Up" campaigns in April 1997, October 1998, October 2000, November 2001, and April 2004, passenger service on of existing tracks was upgraded to reach sub-high speeds of . A notable example is the Guangzhou–Shenzhen railway, which in December 1994 became the first line in China to offer sub-high-speed service of using domestically produced DF-class diesel locomotives. The line was electrified in 1998, and Swedish-made

X 2000 X 2000, officially designated X2, is an electric high-speed tilting train operated by SJ in Sweden. It has a top commercial speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) and a top design speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) but has achieved a maximum speed of 276 k ...

trains increased the service speed to . After the completion of a third track in 2000 and a fourth in 2007, the line became the first in China to run high-speed passenger and freight services on separate tracks. The completion of the sixth round of the "Speed-Up" Campaign in April 2007 brought HSR service to more existing lines: capable of train service and capable of . In all, travel speed increased on , or one-fifth, of the national rail network, and the average speed of passenger trains improved to . The introduction of more non-stop services between large cities also helped to reduce travel time. The non-stop express train from Beijing to

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

shortened travel time from 33.5 hours to less than 20 hours. In addition to track and scheduling improvements, the MOR also deployed faster CRH series trains. During the Sixth Railway Speed Up Campaign, 52 CRH trainsets (

CRH1 The CRH1 electric multiple unit, EMU, also known as Hexie (train), Hexie (), is a High-speed rail, high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transportation and Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock, ...

,

CRH2 The CRH2 Hexie (train), Hexie () is one of the high-speed train models in China. The CRH2 is based on the E2 Series Shinkansen, E2-1000 Series Shinkansen design from Japan with the license purchased from a consortium formed of Kawasaki Heavy Ind ...

and CRH5) entered into operation. The new trains reduced travel time between Beijing and Shanghai by two hours to just under 10 hours. Some 295 stations have been built or renovated to allow high-speed trains.

The conventional rail v. maglev debate

The development of the HSR network in China was initially delayed by a debate over the type of track technology to be used. In June 1998, at a State Council meeting with the Chinese Academies of Sciences and

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, Premier

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

asked whether the high-speed railway between Beijing and Shanghai still being planned could use maglev technology. At the time, planners were divided between using high-speed trains with wheels that run on conventional

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

tracks or magnetic levitation trains that run on special maglev tracks for a new national high-speed rail network. Maglev received a big boost in 2000 when the

Shanghai Municipal Government The Shanghai Municipal People's Government is the local administrative agency of Shanghai. It is officially elected by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and is formally responsible to the SMPC and its Standing Committee. The municipal gove ...

agreed to purchase a

turnkey A turnkey, a turnkey project, or a turnkey operation (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it can be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds ...

TransRapid Transrapid () is a German-developed high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Planning for the system started in the late 1960s, with a test facility in Emsland, Germany, inaugurated in 1983. In 1991, technical readiness for ...

train system from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for the rail link connecting

Shanghai Pudong International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport is one of the two international airports serving Shanghai, China. Pudong Airport serves both international flights and a smaller number of domestic flights, while the city's other major airport, Shanghai ...

and the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. In 2004, the Shanghai Maglev Train became the world's first commercially operated high-speed maglev. , it remains the fastest commercial train in the world with peak speeds of and makes the trip in less than 7.5 minutes. Despite an unmatched advantage in speed, the maglev has not gained widespread use in China's high-speed rail network due to high costs, German refusals to share technology and concerns about safety. The price tag of the Shanghai Maglev was believed to be $1.3 billion and was partially financed by the German government. The refusal of the Transrapid Consortium to share technology and source production in China made large-scale maglev production much more costly than high-speed train technology for conventional lines. Finally, residents living along the proposed maglev route have raised health concerns about noise and

electromagnetic radiation In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength ...

emitted by the trains, despite an environmental assessment by the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences saying the line was safe. These concerns have prevented the construction of the proposed extension of the maglev to Hangzhou. Even the more modest plan to extend the maglev to Shanghai's other airport, Hongqiao, has stalled. Instead, a conventional subway line was built to connect the two airports, and a conventional high-speed rail line was built between Shanghai and Hangzhou. While maglev was drawing attention to Shanghai, conventional track HSR technology was being tested on the newly completed Qinhuangdao-Shenyang Passenger Railway. This standard gauge, dual-track, electrified line was built between 1999 and 2003. In June 2002, a domestically made DJF2 train set a record of on the track. The China Star (DJJ2) train followed the same September with a new record of . The line supports commercial train service at speeds of and has become a segment of the rail corridor between Beijing and Northeast China. The Qinhuangdao-Shenyang Line showed the greater compatibility of HSR on conventional track with the rest of China's standard gauge rail network. In 2004, the State Council in its ''Mid-to-Long Term Railway Development Plan'', adopted conventional track HSR technology over maglev for the Beijing–Shanghai High Speed Railway and three other north–south high-speed rail lines. This decision ended the debate and cleared the way for rapid construction of standard gauge, passenger dedicated HSR lines in China.

Acquisition of foreign technology

Despite setting speed records on test tracks, the DJJ2, DJF2 and other domestically produced high-speed trains were insufficiently reliable for commercial operation. The State Council turned to advanced technology abroad but made it clear in directives that China's HSR expansion could not only benefit foreign economies and should also be used to develop its own high-speed train building capacity through technology transfers. This would later allow the Chinese government through

CRRC CRRC Corporation Limited (known as CRRC) is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer in terms of revenue, eclipsing its major competitors of Alstom and Siemens. ...

to make the more reliable Fuxing Hao and Hexie Hao trains. The CRH380 series (or family) of trains was initially built with direct cooperation (or help) from foreign trainmakers, but newer trainsets are based on transferred technology, just like the Hexie and Fuxing Hao. In 2003, the MOR was believed to favor Japan's

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

technology, especially the 700 series. The Japanese government touted the 40-year track record of the Shinkansen and offered favorable financing. A Japanese report envisioned a winner-take all scenario in which the winning technology provider would supply China's trains for over of high-speed rail. However, Chinese citizens angry with Japan's denial of World War II war crimes organized a web campaign to oppose the awarding of HSR contracts to Japanese companies. The protests gathered over a million signatures and politicized the issue. The MOR delayed the decision, broadened the bidding and adopted a diversified approach to adopting foreign high-speed train technology. In June 2004, the MOR solicited bids to make 200 high-speed train sets that can run .

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

of France,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

,

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

based in Germany and a Japanese consortium led by Kawasaki all submitted bids. With the exception of Siemens, which refused to lower its demand of

CN¥ The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...

350 million per train set and €390 million for the technology transfer, the other three were all awarded portions of the contract. All had to adapt their HSR train-sets to China's own common standard and assemble units through local

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

s (JV) or cooperate with Chinese manufacturers. Bombardier, through its joint venture with CSR's Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co (CSR Sifang), Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd (BST), won an order for 40 eight-car train sets based on Bombardier's Regina design. These trains, designated

CRH1 The CRH1 electric multiple unit, EMU, also known as Hexie (train), Hexie (), is a High-speed rail, high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transportation and Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock, ...

A, were delivered in 2006. Kawasaki won an order for 60 train sets based on its

E2 Series Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokuriku ...

for ¥9.3 billion. Of the 60 train sets, three were directly delivered from

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan, six were kits assembled at CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock, and the remaining 51 were made in China using transferred technology with domestic and imported parts. They are known as

CRH2 The CRH2 Hexie (train), Hexie () is one of the high-speed train models in China. The CRH2 is based on the E2 Series Shinkansen, E2-1000 Series Shinkansen design from Japan with the license purchased from a consortium formed of Kawasaki Heavy Ind ...

A. Alstom also won an order for 60 train sets based on the

New Pendolino The New Pendolino is a class of high-speed tilting trains built by Alstom Ferroviaria (Fiat Ferroviaria) for Trenitalia and Cisalpino. As of 2024, Pendolinos have become a part of the Avelia Stream high speed train family. Operational history ...

developed by Alstom- Ferroviaria in Italy. The order had a similar delivery structure with three shipped directly from

Savigliano Savigliano () is a of Piedmont, Northern Italy, in the Province of Cuneo, about south of Turin by rail. It is home to ironworks, foundries, locomotive works (once owned by Fiat Ferroviaria, now by Alstom) and silk manufactures, as well as sugar ...

along with six kits assembled by CNR's

CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese rolling stock manufacturer and a division of the CRRC. While the CRV emerged in 2002, the company's roots date back to the establishment of the Changchun Car Company in 1954. The company b ...

, and the rest locally made with transferred technology and some imported parts. Trains with Alstom technology carry the CRH5 designation. The following year, Siemens reshuffled its bidding team, lowered prices, joined the bidding for trains and won a 60-train set order. It supplied the technology for the CRH3C, based on the ICE3 (class 403) design, to CNR's Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co. Ltd. The transferred technology includes assembly, body, bogie, traction current transforming, traction transformers, traction motors, traction control, brake systems, and train control networks.

Technology transfer

Acquiring high-speed rail technology had been a major goal of Chinese state planners. Chinese train-makers, after receiving transferred foreign technology, have been able to achieve a degree of self-sufficiency in making the next generation of high-speed trains by producing key parts and improving upon foreign designs. Examples of technology transfer include

Mitsubishi Electric is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1921 as a spin-off from the electrical machinery manufacturing d ...

’s MT205 traction motor and ATM9 transformer to CSR Zhuzhou Electric,

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

’s YJ92A traction motor and Alstom’s YJ87A Traction motor to CNR Yongji Electric, Siemens’ TSG series pantograph to Zhuzhou Gofront Electric. For foreign train-makers, technology transfer was an important part of gaining market access in China. Bombardier, the first foreign train-maker to form a joint venture in China, has been sharing technology for the manufacture of railway passenger cars and rolling stock since 1998. Zhang Jianwei, President of Bombardier China, stated that in a 2009 interview, “Whatever technology Bombardier has, whatever the China market needs, there is no need to ask. Bombardier transfers advanced and

mature technology A mature technology is a technology that has been in use for long enough that most of its initial faults and inherent problems have been removed or reduced by further development. In some contexts, it may also refer to technology that has not se ...

to China, which we do not treat as an experimental market.” Unlike other series which have imported prototypes, all CRH1 trains have been assembled at Bombardier's joint-venture with CSR, Bombardier Sifang in

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

. Kawasaki's cooperation with CSR did not last as long. Within two years of cooperation with Kawasaki to produce 60 CRH2A sets, CSR began in 2008 to build CRH2B, CRH2C and CRH2E models at its Sifang plant independently without assistance from Kawasaki. According to CSR president Zhang Chenghong, CSR "made the bold move of forming a systemic development platform for high-speed locomotives and further upgrading its design and manufacturing technology. Later, we began to independently develop high-speed CRH trains with a maximum velocity of 300–350 kilometers per hour, which eventually rolled off the production line in December 2007." Since then, CSR has ended its cooperation with Kawasaki. Kawasaki challenged China's high-speed rail project for patent theft, but backed off the effort. Between June and September 2005, the MOR launched bidding for high-speed trains with a top speed of , as most of the main high-speed rail lines were designed for top speeds of or higher. Along with CRH3C, produced by Siemens and CNR Tangshan, CSR Sifang bid 60 sets of CRH2C. In 2007, travel time from Beijing to Shanghai was about 10 hours at a top speed of on the upgraded

Beijing–Shanghai Railway The Beijing–Shanghai railway or Jinghu railway () is a railway line between Beijing and Shanghai. The line has a total length of and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, ...

. To increase transport capacity, the MOR ordered 70 16-car trainsets from CSR Sifang and BST, including 10 sets of CRH1B and 20 sets of CRH2B seating trains, 20 sets of CRH1E and 20 sets of CRH2E sleeper trains. Construction of the high-speed railway between Beijing and Shanghai, the world's first high-speed rail with a designed speed of , began on April 18, 2008. In the same year, the Ministry of Science and the MOR agreed to a joint action plan for the indigenous innovation of high-speed trains in China. The MOR then launched the CRH1-350 (Bombardier and BST, designated as CRH380D), CRH2-350 ( CSR, designated as CRH380A/AL), and CRH3-350 ( CNR and Siemens, designated as CRH380B/BL & CRH380CL), to develop a new generation of CRH trains with a top operation speed of . A total of 400 new generation trains were ordered. The CRH380A/AL, the first indigenous high-speed train of the CRH series, entered service on the Shanghai-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway on October 26, 2010. On October 19, 2010, the MOR announced the beginning of research and development of "super-speed" railway technology, which would increase the maximum speed of trains to over .

Early passenger-dedicated high-speed rail lines

After committing to conventional-track high-speed rail in 2006, the state embarked on an ambitious campaign to build passenger-dedicated high-speed rail lines, which accounted for a large part of the government's growing budget for rail construction. Total investment in new rail lines grew from $14 billion in 2004 to $22.7 and $26.2 billion in 2006 and 2007. In response to the global economic recession, the government accelerated the pace of HSR expansion to stimulate economic growth. Total investments in new rail lines including HSR reached $49.4 billion in 2008 and $88 billion in 2009. In all, the state planned to spend $300 billion to build a HSR network by 2020."China to Bid on US High-Speed Rail Projects" A.P.
March 13, 2010 As of 2007, the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang high-speed railway, which carried trains at top speed of along the Liaoxi Corridor in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

, was the only passenger-dedicated HSR line (PDL) in China, but that would soon change as the country embarked on a high-speed railway construction boom.

National high-speed rail grid (4+4)

Higher-speed express train service allowed more trains to share the tracks and improved rail transport capacity. But high-speed trains often have to share tracks with slower, heavy freight trains – in some cases with as little as 5 minutes headway. To attain higher speeds and transport capacity, planners began to propose a passenger-dedicated HSR network on a grand scale. Initiated by MOR's 2004 "Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network Plan", a national grid composed of eight high-speed rail corridors, four running north–south and four going east–west, was to be constructed. The envisioned network, together with upgraded existing lines, would total in length. Most of the new lines follow the routes of existing trunk lines and are designated for passenger travel only. They became known as passenger-designated lines (PDLs). Several sections of the national grid, especially along the southeast coastal corridor, were built to link cities that had no previous rail connections. Those sections carry a mix of passenger and freight. High-speed trains on PDLs can generally reach . On mixed-use HSR lines, passenger train service can attain peak speeds of . The earliest PDLs built were sections of the corridors that connected large cities in the same region. On April 19, 2008, Hefei–Nanjing PDL in the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

opened with a top-speed of . On August 1, 2008, the

Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway () is a high-speed rail in China, Chinese high-speed railway that runs line between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains t ...

opened in time for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. This line between northern China's two largest cities, was the first in the country to accommodate commercial trains with top speed of and featured the

CRH2 The CRH2 Hexie (train), Hexie () is one of the high-speed train models in China. The CRH2 is based on the E2 Series Shinkansen, E2-1000 Series Shinkansen design from Japan with the license purchased from a consortium formed of Kawasaki Heavy Ind ...

C and CRH3C train sets. This ambitious national grid project was planned to be built by 2020, but the government's stimulus has expedited time-tables considerably for many of the lines. The Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway (Wuguang PDL), which opened on December 26, 2009, was the country's first cross-regional high-speed rail line. With a total length of and capacity to accommodate trains traveling at , the Wuguang PDL set a world record for the fastest commercial train service with average trip speed of . Train travel between central and southern China’s largest cities, Wuhan and Guangzhou, was reduced to just over three hours. On October 26, 2010, China opened its 15th high-speed rail, the Shanghai–Hangzhou line, and unveiled the CRH380A trainset manufactured by CSR Sifang started regular service. The

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta."China's fastest high speed train 380A rolls off production line" ''Xinhua''
2010-05-27 By January 2011, China had the world's longest high-speed rail network with about of routes capable of at least running in service including of rail lines with top speeds of . The MOR reportedly committed an investment of ¥709.1 billion (US$107.9 billion) in railway construction in 2010 and would invest ¥700 billion (US$106 billion) in 2011 on 70 railway projects, including 15 high-speed rail projects. Some of new high-speed railways would be opened, and by the end of 2011, China would have of railways capable of carrying trains at speeds of at least .

Corruption and concerns

In February 2011, Railway Minister

Liu Zhijun Liu Zhijun ( zh , s = 刘志军 , t = 劉志軍 , p = Liú Zhìjūn; born 29 January 1953) is a former Chinese politician who served as Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China, Minister of Railway. Liu was a peasant's son who le ...

, a key proponent of HSR expansion in China, was removed from office on charges of corruption. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' estimates Liu accepted ¥1 billion of bribes ($152 million) in connection with railway construction projects. Investigators found evidence that another ¥187 million ($28.5 million) was misappropriated from the $33 billion

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.Zhang Shuguang, was also sacked for corruption. Zhang was estimated to have misappropriated to his personal overseas accounts the equivalent of $2.8 billion. After the political shake-up, concerns about HSR safety, high ticket prices, financial sustainability and environmental impact received greater scrutiny in the Chinese press."China Puts Brakes on High-Speed Trains" ''The Wall Street Journal''
2011-04-17 In April 2011, the new Minister of Railways Sheng Guangzu said that due to corruption, safety may have been compromised on some construction projects and completion dates may have to be pushed back. Sheng announced that all trains in the high-speed rail network would operate at a maximum speed of beginning on July 1, 2011. This was in response to concerns over safety, low ridership due to high ticket prices, and high energy usage. On June 13, 2011, the MOR clarified in a press conference that the speed reduction was not due to safety concerns but to offer more affordable tickets for trains at and increase ridership. Higher-speed train travel uses greater energy and imposes more wear on expensive machinery. Railway officials lowered the top speed of trains on most lines that were running at to . Trains on the Beijing–Tianjin high-speed line and a few other inter-city lines remained at . In May 2011, China's Environmental Protection Ministry ordered the halting of construction and operation of two high-speed lines that failed to pass environmental impact tests. In June, the MOR maintained that high-speed rail construction was not slowing down. The CRH380A trainsets on the

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta. Under political and public pressure, the National Audit Office (NAO) carried out an extensive investigation into the building quality of all high-speed rail lines. As of March 2011, no major quality defects had been found in the system. Foreign manufacturers involved in the Shanghai–Beijing high-speed link reported that their contracts called for a maximum operational speed of . From July 20, 2011, the frequency of train services from Jinan to Beijing and Tianjin was reduced due to low occupancy, renewing concerns about demand and profitability for high-speed services. Service failures in the first month of operation drove passengers back to pre-existing slower rail service and air travel; airline ticket prices rebounded due to reduced competition.

Wenzhou accident

Speed of Shanghai to Hangzhou high speed CRH train

On July 23, 2011, two high-speed trains collided on the Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou railway in Lucheng District of

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

,

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Province. The accident occurred when one train traveling near Wenzhou was struck by lightning, lost power and stalled. Signals malfunctioned, causing another train to rear-end the stalled train. Several carriages derailed. State-run Chinese media confirmed 40 deaths, and at least 192 people hospitalised, including 12 who were severely injured. The Wenzhou train accident and the lack of accountability by railway officials caused a public uproar and heightened concerns about the safety and management of China's high-speed rail system. Quality and safety concerns also affected plans to export cheaper high-speed train technology to other countries. The train collision exposed poor management by the railway company. This fatal accident, which happened in the midst of corruption investigations into railway officials, led to greater scrutiny in the Chinese press and the populace concerning the HSR and on the railway company. Following the deadly crash, the Chinese government suspended new railway project approvals and launched safety checks on existing equipment. A commission was formed to investigate the accident with a directive to report its findings in September 2011. On August 10, 2011, the Chinese government announced that it was suspending approvals of any new high-speed rail lines pending the outcome of the investigation. The Minister of Railways announced further cuts in the speed of Chinese high-speed trains, with the speed of the second-tier 'D' trains reduced from to , and to on upgraded pre-existing lines. The speed of the remaining trains between Shanghai and Hangzhou was reduced to as of August 28, 2011. To stimulate ridership, on August 16, 2011, ticket prices on high-speed trains were reduced by five percent. From July to September, high-speed rail ridership in China fell by nearly 151 million trips to 30 million trips.

Slowdown in financing and construction

In the first half of 2011, the MOR as a whole made a profit of ¥4.29 billion and carried a total debt burden of ¥2.09 trillion, equal to about 5% of China's GDP. Earnings from the more profitable freight lines helped to off-set losses by high-speed rail lines. As of years ending 2008, 2009 and 2010, the MOR's debt-to-asset ratio was respectively, 46.81%, 53.06% and 57.44%, and reached 58.58% by mid-year 2011. As of October 12, 2011, the MOR had issued ¥160 billion of debt for the year. But in the late summer, state banks began to cut back on lending to rail construction projects, which reduced funding for existing railway projects. An investigation of 23 railway construction companies in August 2011 revealed that 70% of existing projects had been slowed or halted mainly due to shortage of funding. Affected lines included the Xiamen–Shenzhen, Nanning–Guangzhou, Guiyang–Guangzhou, Shijiazhuang–Wuhan, Tianjin–Baoding and Shanghai–Kunming high-speed rail lines. By October, work had halted on the construction of of track. New projects were put on hold and completion dates for existing projects, including the Tianjin–Baoding, Harbin–Jiamusi, Zhengzhou–Xuzhou and Hainan Ring (West), were pushed back. As of October 2011, the MOR was reportedly concentrating remaining resources on fewer high-speed rail lines and shifting emphasis to more economically viable coal transporting heavy rail. To ease the credit shortage facing rail construction, the Ministry of Finance announced tax cuts to interest earned on rail construction financing bonds and the State Council ordered state banks to renew lending to rail projects. In late October and November 2011, the MOR raised RMB 250 billion in fresh financing and construction resumed on several lines including the Tianjin–Baoding, Xiamen–Shenzhen and Shanghai–Kunming.

Recovery

By early 2012, the Chinese government renewed investments in high-speed rail to rejuvenate the slowing economy.Simon Rabinovitch, “China’s high-speed rail gets back on track” ‘’Financial Times’’
2013-01-16 Premier Wen Jiabao visited train manufacturers and gave a vote of confidence in the industry. Over the course of the year, the MOR's budget rose from $64.3 billion to $96.5 billion. Five new lines totaling in length entered operation between June 30 and December 31, including the Beijing–Wuhan section of the Beijing–Guangzhou line. By the end of 2012, the total length of high-speed rail tracks had reached , and ridership rebounded and exceeded levels prior to the Wenzhou crash. By 2014, China's 1,580 high-speed trains were transporting 1.33 million passengers daily, about 25.7% of the overall passenger traffic. The Beijing–Tianjin, Shanghai–Nanjing, Beijing–Shanghai and Shanghai–Hangzhou lines reported breaking even financially The Shanghai–Nanjing line even reported to be operationally profitable, operating with a 380 million yuan net profit. However, in 2013, only few lines had yet become profitable. On December 28, 2013, the total length of high-speed rail tracks nationally topped with the opening of the Xiamen–Shenzhen, Xian–Baoji, Chongqing−Lichuan high-speed railways as well as intercity lines in

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

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Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

."China's railways mileage tops 100,000 km" ''Xinhua''
2013-12-28

Second boom

In 2014, high-speed rail expansion gained speed with the opening of the Taiyuan–Xi'an, Hangzhou–Changsha, Lanzhou-Ürümqi, Guiyang-Guangzhou,

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

-Guangzhou trunk lines and intercity lines around

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

,

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, Qingdao and Zhengzhou. High-speed passenger rail service expanded to 28 provinces and regions. The number of high-speed train sets in operation grew from 1,277 pairs in June to 1,556.5 pairs in December. In response to a slowing economy, central planners approved a slew of new lines including

Shangqiu Shangqiu ( zh, ), Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast ...

–

Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...

–

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

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Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

–

Wanzhou Wanzhou District ( zh, s=万州区 , t=萬州區 , p=Wànzhōu Qū) is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing M ...

,

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...

–

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

,

Linyi Linyi ( zh, s=临沂 , t=臨沂 , p=Línyí) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the eas ...

–

Qufu Qufu ( ; zh, c=曲阜) is a county-level city in southwestern Shandong province, East China. It is located about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefectural seat at Jining. Qufu has an area of 815 square kilometers, ...

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Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

–

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu language, Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), postal romanization, alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' un ...

,

Yinchuan Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut people, Tangut-led Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 C ...

–

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

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Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...

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Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...

, and intercity lines in Zhejiang and Jiangxi. The government actively promoted the export of high-speed rail technology to countries including Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, India, Russia and Turkey. To better compete with foreign trainmakers, the central authorities arranged for the merger of the country's two main high-speed train-makers, CSR and CNR, into

CRRC CRRC Corporation Limited (known as CRRC) is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer in terms of revenue, eclipsing its major competitors of Alstom and Siemens. ...

. By 2015, six high speed rail lines, Beijing–Tianjin, Shanghai–Nanjing, Beijing–Shanghai, Shanghai–Hangzhou, Nanjing–Hangzhou and Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong were reporting operational profitability. The Beijing–Shanghai was particularly profitable, reporting a 6.6 billion yuan net profit. In 2016, with the near completion of the National 4+4 grid, a new "Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network" Plan was drafted. The plan envisions a larger 8+8 high speed rail grid serving the nation and expanded intercity lines for regional and commuter services for large

metropolitan areas A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

of China. The proposed completion date for the network is 2030. Since 2017, with the introduction of the Fuxing series of trains, a number of lines have resumed 350 km/h operations, such as Beijing–Shanghai HSR, Beijing–Tianjin ICR, and Chengdu–Chongqing ICR. The HSR network reached in total length by the end of 2020. In 2025, the HSR network will reach a total length of 50,000 km and is expected to grow further.

Development and social impact

China's high-speed rail expansion is entirely managed, planned and financed by the Chinese government.

Public interest, safety, and concern

On one hand, the demand of high-speed rail in China steadily increases over time. In 2012, the average occupancy rate of high-speed rails in China was 57%. This percentage increased to 65%, 69% and 72% in the year of 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. As of February 2016, high-speed rails covered nearly . On the other hand, however, public concerns about the high-speed rail development have been raised from various perspectives. The safety issue that drew the attention of the public and the government was the Wenzhou train collision which happened on July 23, 2011, in which 40 people died, 172 were injured, and 54 related officials blamed and punished. According to a 2014 World Bank report, the incident was attributed to inadequate testing of a new design for signaling equipment, which lacked proper fail-safe features. However overall, Chinese high speed rail has an exemplary safety record and according to

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, the Chinese high-speed rail network is "one of the world’s safest transportation systems." As of at least 2024, the Wenzhou crash remains the only serious accident in the massive Chinese HSR network.

Construction costs

According to a 2019 World Bank report, China was able to have construction costs of its high speed rail to be at an average of $17 million to 21 million dollars per km, which is lower than other countries by a third.

Standardization Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

of the designs and procedures were cited as the key reason for keeping costs down.

Economic efficiency

Experts expressed concern of the network's operational efficiency. In 2016, Chinese railways carried almost 2 trillion ton-kilometers of freight and over 1 billion

passenger-kilometer The units of measurement in transportation describes the unit of measurement used to express various transportation quantities, as used in statistics, planning, and their related applications. Transportation quantity The currently popular units ...

of passengers, making it one of the world's most intensively used freight and passenger railway networks in the world. However, the rail staff

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

upon railway track

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

index in China is less than 0.05, being the lowest among the countries with significant railway construction. The government also articulated the importance and urgency of assuring the capacity of railway staff, especially their familiarity with telecommunication and signaling testing in the official investigation of the Wenzhou train collision. In addition, it is hard to identify problems in the construction process, given the

distribution resource planning {{Business logistics Distribution resource planning (DRP) is a method used in business administration for planning orders within a supply chain. DRP enables the user to set certain inventory control parameters (like a safety stock) and calculate t ...

system needed for rapid railway building and assembling. Suppliers and manufacturers blame each other for any problem detected in the trial operation, while tracking the construction process to every single detail is an almost impossible job for inspectors. Hada high-speed railway under const

Policy justifications

The government identifies policy objectives including providing fast, reliable and comfortable means of transporting large numbers of travelers in a densely populated country over long distances, which: * Improves economic

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

and

competitiveness Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...

over the long term by increasing the transport capacity of railways and linking labor markets. Dedicating passenger transport to high-speed lines frees up older conventional railways to freights, which can now carry more payload at lower speed and is more profitable for railway companies than passengers, whose fares are subsidized. * Stimulates the economy in the short term as HSR construction creates jobs and drives up demand for construction, steel and cement industries during the economic downturn. Work on the Beijing–Shanghai HSR mobilized 110,000 workers.China's amazing new bullet train
CNN Money August 6, 2009 * Facilitates cross-city economic integration and promotes the growth of second-tier cities. The introduction of the

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

ways is responsible for 59% of the increase in market potential for the secondary cities connected by bullet trains. (Market potential, a concept used by economic geographers, measures "a geographic area's access to markets for inputs and outputs.") A 10% increase in a secondary city's market potential is expected to be associated with a 4.5% increase in its average real estate price. * Supports energy independence and environmental sustainability. Electric trains use less energy to transport people and goods on a per unit basis and can draw power from more diverse sources of energy including

renewables Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Bioenergy and ...

than automobile and aircraft, which are more reliant on

imported An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

petroleum. * Develop an indigenous high-speed rail equipment industry. The expansion into HSR is also developing China into a leading source of high-speed rail building technology. Chinese train-makers have absorbed imported technologies quickly, localized production processes, and even begun to compete with foreign suppliers in the export market. Six years after receiving Kawasaki's license to produce Shinkansen E2, CSC Sifang can produce the CRH2A without Japanese input, and Kawasaki has ended cooperation with Sifang on high-speed rail.

Profitability and debt

One major concern of the high-speed rail network is the high amount of debt incurred. As of 2022, the China State Railway Group has had a debt of around US$900 billion, according to ''Nikkei''. Conservative scholars and officials are worried that the indebted high-speed rail is further exacerbated by its unprofitability, operating at a daily loss of US$24 million as of November 2021. While a number of high-speed railways in eastern China have started to be operationally profitable since 2015, the high speed railways in the midwest still operate at a loss.

Zhengzhou–Xi'an high-speed railway The Zhengzhou–Xi'an high-speed railway, also known as the Zhengxi passenger line, is a high-speed railway line operated by China Railway High-speed, connecting Zhengzhou and Xi'an, the provincial capitals of Henan and Shaanxi, respectively. I ...

is estimated to run 59 trains in 2010 and 125 trains in 2018, yet in 2016 there are merely around 30 trains on operation, causing a 1.4 billion loss. The

Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway, also known as the Guiguang HSR, is a high-speed railway line in southern China between Guiyang in Guizhou Province and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. The railway is dedicated to high speed passenger rail ...

and Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway (where fares do not cover electricity costs) are both suffering from high maintenance cost due to harsh climate conditions and complicated terrain structure. The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is one of the few lines that have been profitable, with profits steadily increasing after first breaking even in 2014, and achieving revenue of CNY 29.6 billion and net profit of CNY 12.7 billion in 2017. In an analysis conducted in 2019, only five out of fifteen high speed railway lines with travel speeds reaching 350 kilometers per hour, were able to cover all costs that included both the operating and capital costs.

Construction financing

China's high-speed rail construction projects are highly capital intensive. About 40–50% of financing is provided by the national government through lending by state owned banks and

financial institutions A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...

, another 40% by the bonds issued by the Ministry of Railway (MOR) and the remaining 10–20% by provincial and local governments. The MOR, through its financing arm, the China Rail Investment Corp (CRIC), issued an estimated ¥1 trillion (US$150 billion in 2010 dollars) in debt to finance HSR construction from 2006 to 2010, including ¥310 billion in the first 10 months of 2010. CRIC has also raised some capital through equity offerings; in the spring of 2010, CRIC sold a 4.5 percent stake in the

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Banco da China'') is a state-owned Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, Beijing, China. It is one of ...

for ¥6.6 billion and a 4.5 percent stake to the public for ¥6 billion. CRIC retained 56.2 percent ownership on that line. As of 2010, the CRIC-bonds are considered to be relatively safe investments because they are backed by assets (the railways) and implicitly by the government. Crossing Shape-Shangrao Railway Station

Large construction debt-loads require significant revenues from rider fares, subsidies, and/or other sources of income, such as advertising, to repay. Despite impressive ridership figures, virtually every completed line has incurred losses in its first years of operation. For example, the

Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway () is a high-speed rail in China, Chinese high-speed railway that runs line between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains t ...

in its two full years of operation, delivered over 41 million rides. The line cost ¥20.42 billion to build, and ¥1.8 billion per annum to operate, including ¥0.6 billion in interest payments on its ¥10 billion of loan obligations. The terms of the loans range from 5–10 years at interest rates of 6.3 to 6.8 percent. In its first year of operation from August 1, 2008, to July 31, 2009, the line carried 18.7 million riders and generated ¥1.1 billion in revenues, which resulted in a loss of ¥0.7 billion. In the second year, ridership rose to 22.3 million and revenues improved to ¥1.4 billion, which narrowed losses somewhat to below ¥0.5 billion. To break even, the line must deliver 30 million rides annually. To be able to repay principal, ridership would need to exceed 40 million. In September 2010, daily ridership averaged 69,000 or an annual rate of 25.2 million. In 2013, ridership totaled 25.85 million. The line has a capacity of delivering 100 million rides annually and initial estimated repayment period of 16 years. In 2012, the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway reported that it had broken even, and by 2015 was operating at a profit. The Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan PDL lost ¥0.8 billion in its first year and is set to lose ¥0.9 billion in 2010. The Southeast HSR corridor lost ¥0.377 billion in its first year beginning August 2009. The Zhengzhou-Xian HSR since opening in February 2010 was expected to generate revenues of ¥0.6 billion in its first full year but must make interest payments of ¥1.1 billion. In the first three quarters of 2012, the line lost ¥1.87 billion. The losses must be covered by the operator, which is usually subsidized by local governments. In December 2014, the Henan provincial government imposed a rule requiring municipal authorities pay 70% of the deficit incurred by Henan's intercity lines with the provincial authorities paying the remainder 30%. The MOR faces a debt-repayment peak in 2014. Some economists recommend further subsidies to lower fares and boost ridership and ultimately revenues. Others warn that the financing side of the existing construction and operation model is unsustainable. If the rail-backed loans cannot be fully repaid, they may be refinanced or the banks may seize ownership of the railways. To prevent that eventuality, the MOR is trying to improve management of its rapidly growing HSR holdings. Overall, ridership is growing as the high-speed rail network continues to expand. High-speed rail is also becoming relatively more affordable as fares have remained stable while worker wages have grown sharply over the same period. In 2016, the high-speed rail revenue was 140.9 billion RMB Yuan (US$20 billion), while the same term interest from at least 3300 billion debt of its construction was 156.8 billion RMB Yuan (US$22.4 billion). According to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, a stable long term planning and standardization of technology and design used in the high-speed rail helps to reduce financial and operational cost. Standardization of designs and procedures such as train tracks, rolling stocks, signal systems keeps the construction cost down. Moreover, State-owned corporation also uses

bulk purchasing Bulk purchasing or mass buying is the purchase of much larger quantities than the usual, for a unit price that is lower than the usual. Wholesaling is selling goods in large quantities at a low unit price to retail merchants. The wholesaler will a ...

to reduce material prices.

Overbuilding concerns

High-speed rail in China has been frequently criticised as having built more lines and stations than necessary, with negative impacts on its financial condition. Some lines and stations see only minimal service, with just a few trains per day. Some stations on high-speed lines have never opened despite construction being complete due to low projected demand, or opened and then closed after only a couple of years due to low ridership. To stem this problem, the Chinese government introduced in 2021 new tighter criteria for the approval of new high-speed lines, requiring that lines duplicating existing routes should only be constructed if the existing route was operating at over 80% of capacity, and that new high-speed lines should only be built to cities that see more than 15 million trips a year.

Fare cost comparisons

In 2013 fares for China's high-speed rail service costs significantly less than similar systems in other developed countries, for comparison high speed rail tickets in France or Germany cost slightly over US$0.10 per kilometer and the various Shinkansen services hover above US$0.20 per kilometer. A 2019 study by the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, had found that the HSR fares in China are low when compared to other countries and have attracted passengers from all income levels. They noted that HSR is "very competitive" with bus and aircraft transport for distances between 150 km and 800 km (about 3 to 4 hours travel time). Additionally due to the frequency and its high speeds, HSR services that travel at 350kph, still remains competitive with other modes of transport, for distances of up to 1,200 km.

Impact on airlines

The spread of high-speed rail has forced domestic airlines in China to slash airfare and cancel regional flights. The impact of high-speed rail on air travel is most acute for intercity trips under . By the spring of 2011, commercial airline service had been completely halted on previously popular routes such as Wuhan–Nanjing, Wuhan–Nanchang, Xi’an–Zhengzhou and Chengdu–Chongqing. Flights on routes over are generally unaffected. As of October 2013, high-speed rail was carrying twice as many passengers each month as the country's airlines.

Track network

China's high-speed railway network is by far the longest in the world. The HSR network reached in total length by end of 2023 with plans to reach in 2035. HSR lines with design speeds at are more common than higher speed lines. According to a World Bank publication on Chinese HSR, by the end of 2017 "the length of 300–350 kph lines was about 10,000 km, and the length of 200–250 kph lines was about 15,000 km." Newer HSR lines are one of three types: #passenger dedicated lines (PDLs) with a design speed of , #regional lines connecting major cities with a design speed of , and #certain regional "intercity" HSR lines with a design speed of . Lastly, the HSR network includes rail lines that had been newly constructed during a previous stage of the high speed rail build up, carrying high-speed passenger and express freight trains with a design speed of .

National High-Speed Rail Grid

The centerpiece of China's expansion into high-speed rail is a national high-speed rail grid consisting of mainly passenger dedicated lines that is overlaid onto the existing railway network.

4+4 HSR Grid

The grid is composed of eight high-speed rail corridors, four running north–south and four east–west, and has a total of . Most of the lines follow the routes of existing trunk lines and are designated for passenger traffic only. They are known as passenger-designated lines (PDL). Several sections of the national grid, especially along the southeast coastal corridor, were built to link cities that had no previous rail connections. Those sections will carry a mix of passenger and freight. High-speed trains on HSR Corridors can generally reach . On mixed-use HSR lines, passenger train service can attain peak speeds of . This ambitious national grid project was planned to be built by 2020, but the government's stimulus has expedited time-tables considerably for many of the lines.

8+8 HSR Grid

The 4+4 national HSR grid was largely completed by the end of 2015 and now serves as the backbone of China's HSR network. In July 2016, the state planners reorganized the national HSR networkincluding HSR lines in operation, under construction and under planninginto eight "vertical" (north–south) and eight "horizontal" (east–west) high speed rail corridors, almost doubling the network. Eight Verticals # Coastal corridor # Beijing–Shanghai corridor # Beijing–Hong Kong (Taipei) corridor # Harbin–Hong Kong (Macau) corridor # Hohhot–Nanning corridor # Beijing–Kunming corridor # Baotou (Yinchuan)–Hainan corridor # Lanzhou (Xining)–Guangzhou corridor Eight Horizontals # Suifenhe–Manzhouli corridor # Beijing–Lanzhou corridor # Qingdao–Yinchuan corridor #

Eurasia Continental Bridge corridor The Eurasia Continental Bridge corridor () is a high-speed rail corridor connecting Lianyungang, a port in northern Jiangsu province, to Ürümqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang. The corridor passes through the cities of Xuzhou (Jiangsu), Zheng ...

# Yangtze River corridor # Shanghai–Kunming corridor # Xiamen–Chongqing corridor # Guangzhou–Kunming corridor

Regional High-Speed Rail

According to the "Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network Plan" (revised in 2008), the MOR plans to build over of railway in order to expand the railway network in western China and to fill gaps in the networks of eastern and central China. Some of these new railways are being built to accommodate speeds of for both passengers and freight. These are also considered high-speed rail though they are not part of the national HSR grid or Intercity High Speed Rail. Several HSR lines planned and built as a regional high-speed railway under the 2008 Revisions have since been incorporated into the 8+8 national grid.

High-speed intercity railways

Intercity railways are designed to provide regional high-speed rail service between large cities and

metropolitan areas A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

that are generally within the same province. They are built with the approval of the central government but are financed and operated largely by local governments with limited investment and oversight from the China Rail Corporation. Some intercity lines run parallel to other high-speed rail lines but serve more stations along the route. Intercity HSR service speeds range from .

Passenger-freight railways and connecting conventional lines

The HSR network includes new mixed passenger-freight lines with a design speed of . Some high speed trains also continue on or run over connecting segments of upgraded conventional lines. Trains can operate at on many of the conventional main lines.

Service

Rail operators

China Railway High-speed (CRH) is the major high-speed rail service provided by state-owned railway manufacturing and construction corporation

China Railway China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

. The CRH's high-speed trains are called

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and

Rejuvenation Rejuvenation is a medical discipline focused on the practical reversal of the aging process. Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes to slow aging. ...

. In October 2010, CRH service more than 1,000 trains per day, with a daily ridership of about 925,000. Almost all HSR trains, tracks, and services are owned and operated by the

China Railway Corporation China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

under the brand

China Railway High-speed China Railway High-speed (CRH) is a high-speed rail service operated by China Railway in addition to China Railway's older Classic Rail services. The introduction of CRH series was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup, impleme ...

(CRH) with two exceptions being the Shanghai Maglev Train, which is operated by the Shentong Metro Group, and Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), which is partially operated by the Hong Kong-based

MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong K ...

. Although both classified as high-speed rail, the Shanghai Maglev often is not counted as part of the national high-speed rail network, while XRL is fully integrated into the national network of the CRH. China has the world's only commercial maglev high-speed train line in operation. The Shanghai Maglev Train, a

turnkey A turnkey, a turnkey project, or a turnkey operation (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it can be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds ...

Transrapid Transrapid () is a German-developed high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Planning for the system started in the late 1960s, with a test facility in Emsland, Germany, inaugurated in 1983. In 1991, technical readiness for ...

maglev Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation'') is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance. Compared to conventional railways, maglev trains h ...

demonstration line long. The trains have a top operational speed of and can reach a top non-commercial speed of . It opened for operations in March 2004, and transports passengers between Shanghai's Longyang Road station and

Shanghai Pudong International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport is one of the two international airports serving Shanghai, China. Pudong Airport serves both international flights and a smaller number of domestic flights, while the city's other major airport, Shanghai ...

. There have been numerous attempts to extend the line without success. A Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev line was also initially discussed but later shelved in favour of conventional high-speed rail. Two other Maglev lines, the Changsha Maglev and the Line S1 of Beijing, were designed for commercial operations with speeds lower than . The Fenghuang Maglev opened in 2022 while the Qingyuan Maglev is under construction.

Ridership

China Railway China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

reports the number of passengers carried by high-speed EMU train sets and this figure is frequently reported as high-speed ridership, even though this figure includes passengers from EMU trains providing sub-high speed service. In 2007, CRH EMU trains running on conventional track upgraded in the sixth round of the "Speed-up Campaign" carried 61 million passengers, before the country's first high-speed rail line, the

Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway () is a high-speed rail in China, Chinese high-speed railway that runs line between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains t ...

, opened in August 2008. In 2018, China Railway operated 3,970.5 pairs of passenger train service, of which 2,775 pairs were carried by EMU train sets. Of the 3.313 billion passenger-trips delivered by China Railway in 2018, EMU train sets carried 2.001 billion passenger-trips. This EMU passenger figure includes ridership from certain D- and C-class trains that are technically not within the definition of high-speed rail in China, as well as ridership from EMU train sets serving routes on conventional track or routes that combine high-speed track and conventional track. Nevertheless, by any measure, high-speed rail ridership in China has grown rapidly with expansion of the high-speed rail network and EMU service since 2008. China is the third country, after Japan and France, to have one billion cumulative HSR passengers. In 2018, annual ridership on EMU train sets, which encompasses officially defined high-speed rail service as well as certain sub-high-speed service routes, accounted for about two-thirds of all regional rail trips (not including urban trains) in China. At the end of 2018, cumulative passengers delivered by EMU trains is reported to be over 9 billion.

Technology

Rolling stock

CRH380BL Business Coach SW622203 20121114

CRH2E-2464 at Beijing South Railway Station

China Railway High-speed runs different

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

trainsets, the name Hexie Hao () is for designs which are imported from other nations and designated CRH-1 through CRH-5 and CRH380A(L), CRH380B(L), and CRH380C(L). CRH trainsets are intended to provide fast and convenient travel between cities. Some of the Hexie Hao train sets are manufactured locally through technology transfer, a key requirement for China. The signalling, track and support structures, control software, and station design are developed domestically with foreign elements as well. By 2010, the truck system as a whole is predominantly Chinese. China currently holds many new patents related to the internal components of these trains, re-designed in China to allow the trains to run at higher speeds than the foreign designs allowed. However, these patents are only valid within China, and as such hold no international power. The weakness on intellectual property of Hexie Hao causes obstruction for China to export its high-speed rail related product, which leads to the development of the completely redesigned train franchise called Fuxing Hao () that is based on indigenous technologies.

Maglev

In October 2016 China's

CRRC CRRC Corporation Limited (known as CRRC) is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer in terms of revenue, eclipsing its major competitors of Alstom and Siemens. ...

announced that it was beginning research and development on a Maglev train and would build a test track. In June 2020, a trial run was conducted at

Tongji University Tongji University is a public university located in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Tongji is one of the ...

. A planned launch of the maglev train was set for 2025.

Track technology

China high speed rail ballastless tracks

Dmitry Medvedev in China 15 April 2011-2

Many of the Passenger Designated Lines use ballastless tracks, which allow for smoother train rides at high speeds and can withstand heavy use without warping. The ballastless track technology, imported from Germany, carries higher upfront costs but can reduce maintenance costs. Typical application of track technology in China high-speed lines

Technology export

Chinese train-makers and rail builders have signed agreements to build HSRs in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, Venezuela, Argentina, and Indonesia and are bidding on HSR projects in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Saudi Arabia, Brazil (São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro) and Myanmar, and other countries. They are competing directly with the established European and Japanese manufacturers, and sometimes partnering with them. In Saudi Arabia's Haramain High Speed Rail Project, Alstom partnered with China Railway Construction Corp. to win the contract to build phase I of the

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

to

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

HSR line, and Siemens has joined CSR to bid on phase II. China is also competing with Japan, Germany, South Korea, Spain, France and Italy to bid for California's high-speed rail line project, which would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. In November 2009, the MOR signed preliminary agreements with the state's high-speed rail authority and

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

(GE) under which China would license technology, provide financing and furnish up to 20 percent of the parts with the remaining sourced from American suppliers, and final assembly of the rolling stock in the United States. In January 2014, the China Railway Construction Corporation completed a section of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway between

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

and İnönü in western

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In 2015, China Railway signed up to design a high-speed railway line between the Russian cities of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

. Russian state-owned railway corporation JSC Russian Railways cooperated with China Railway Group to plan for a 770-kilometer high-speed rail between the two Russian cities. The estimated total cost of the design contract is 20.8 billion rubles ($383 million) for two years. Once the designs are developed, a separate tender will be held for the construction of the rail link, which Russian Railways expects to cost 1.06 trillion rubles ($19.5 billion). In October 2023, Indonesia launched the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia, named '' Whoosh'', connecting Indonesia's capital

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

and its economic hub

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

. As part of China's

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

, the project cost $7.3 billion and was primarily funded by Chinese banks. As per the agreement,

China Railway China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

provided high-speed rail technologies and operational knowledge to Indonesia while

China Railway Construction Corporation China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (abbreviated CRCC) is a listed construction enterprise based in Beijing, China, that was the second largest construction and engineering company in the world by revenue in 2014. The limited company ...

(CRCC) completed the line. The line is operated by

Kereta Cepat Indonesia China PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (, abbreviated as KCIC) is an Indonesian transportation company that operates the High-speed railway in Indonesia, Indonesian high-speed rail network built on the Jakarta–Bandung route in the Parahyangan megapolit ...

. According to Western analysts, this is the first complete high-speed rail export project offered by China and signifies China's growing geopolitical influence in the region. Indonesia and Chinese authorities discussed further plans to extend the railway across the

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

island.

Records

Fastest trains in China

The "fastest" train commercial service can be defined alternatively by a train's top speed or average trip speed. * The fastest commercial train service measured by peak operational speed is the Shanghai Maglev Train which can reach . Due to the limited length of the Shanghai Maglev track , the maglev train's average trip speed is only . During testing in 2003, the maglev train achieved the Chinese record speed of . * The fastest commercial train service measured by average train speed is the CRH express service on the

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.Shanghai Hongqiao and Beijing South, with two stops, in 4 hours and 24 min for an average speed of , the fastest train service measured by average trip speed in the world. *The fastest timetabled start-to-stop runs between a station pair in the world are trains G17/G39 on the

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.Beijing South to Nanjing South before continuing to other destinations. * The top speed attained by a non-maglev train in China is by a CRH380BL train on the

Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

service in the world."China launches longest high-speed train service" China Daily
2017-01-05 It overtook the G529/530 trains for the -

Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internati ...

() service (, 15 1/2 hours for southbound train, 15 3/4 hours for northbound train), which had set the previous record on July 1, 2016.

Definition and terminology

History

Precursor

Early planning

The "Speed Up" campaigns

The conventional rail v. maglev debate

Acquisition of foreign technology

Technology transfer

Early passenger-dedicated high-speed rail lines

National high-speed rail grid (4+4)

Corruption and concerns

Wenzhou accident

Slowdown in financing and construction

Recovery

Second boom

Development and social impact

Public interest, safety, and concern

Construction costs

Economic efficiency

Policy justifications

Profitability and debt

Construction financing

Overbuilding concerns

Fare cost comparisons

Impact on airlines

Track network

National High-Speed Rail Grid

4+4 HSR Grid

8+8 HSR Grid

Regional High-Speed Rail

High-speed intercity railways

Passenger-freight railways and connecting conventional lines

Service

Rail operators

Ridership

Technology

Rolling stock

Maglev

Track technology

Technology export

Records

Fastest trains in China

See also

Notes

Further reading

References

Citations

Sources

External links