rapid growth of highspeed rail in china
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Rapid growth of high-speed rail in China

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Rapid growth of high-speed rail in China

Beijing - AFP

China only opened its high-speed rail service to passengers four years ago, but it now boasts the world's biggest network, with more than 8,300 kilometres of track -- a figure that is growing rapidly. Trains are by far the most popular form of long-distance transport in the country of more than 1.3 billion people where, despite three decades of blistering economic growth, air travel remains far too expensive for most people. China recorded more than 1.68 billion passenger trips on its network in 2010, dwarfing the 248 million airline passenger journeys in the same period. The vast country's 91,000-kilometre (57,000-mile) rail network carries hundreds of millions of people every year and stretches from the eastern metropolis of Shanghai to the remote Tibetan plateau. In recent years, the government has invested heavily in high-speed train links as it strives to meet the growing demands on the transport system. Last year, government spending on the high-speed railway surpassed 700 billion yuan ($109 billion), and China is now home to around half the world's high-speed tracks. The network officially opened to passengers in 2007 with a link between China's commercial centre, Shanghai, and the city of Suzhou, 112 kilometres to the west. By the end of last year it covered 8,358 kilometres, and it is expected to exceed 13,000 kilometres by 2012 and 16,000 kilometres by 2020. But even before a collision Saturday between two high-speed trains triggered what the government called an "urgent" overhaul, there were fears that corruption and the breakneck pace of development could have compromised safety. China's state auditor said construction companies and individuals last year siphoned off 187 million yuan from the Beijing-Shanghai project, which has been plagued by power cuts since opening to great fanfare last month. Beijing sacked railways minister Liu Zhijun in February for allegedly taking more than 800 million yuan in kickbacks linked to contracts for high-speed rail expansion. There are also growing complaints that ticket prices are too high for the low-paid masses. The $33 billion high-speed track linking Beijing and Shanghai opened to passengers on June 30 -- a year ahead of schedule and a day before celebrations to mark the 90th birthday of China's Communist party. But sales of seats on the flagship link have been slow. Ren Xianfang, a senior analyst at IHS Global Insight in Beijing, said the pace of development in China had been "phenomenal", but warned it could not be sustained. "This (accident) could be a setback to the high-speed train development," she told AFP. "I now feel nervous about taking passenger trains because it has confirmed our worries about potential safety issues with the high-speed trains. I think this is a very bad situation for the government." Foreign companies participating in the development of high-speed rail in China have also accused Chinese state-owned companies of stealing some of their technology or forcing them to transfer their know-how -- charges China denies. China's high-speed trains were based on foreign technology but it had improved the technology to make the trains even faster, He Huawu, chief engineer of the railways ministry, said last July. Authorities have reduced the maximum speed of bullet trains to 300 km per hour to make journeys safer and more affordable.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

rapid growth of highspeed rail in china rapid growth of highspeed rail in china

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

rapid growth of highspeed rail in china rapid growth of highspeed rail in china

 



GMT 13:42 2015 Saturday ,04 April

Libyan warplane targets camp in Gharyan town

GMT 15:14 2017 Wednesday ,01 March

UN documents nearly 1,500 child soldiers in Yemen

GMT 07:24 2017 Sunday ,01 October

Mexico unlikely to find more quake survivors

GMT 16:15 2015 Wednesday ,11 November

German intelligence 'spied' on Fabius, FBI, UN bodies

GMT 01:32 2017 Saturday ,15 April

Russia's Putin earns about 157,000 USD in 2016

GMT 16:30 2017 Saturday ,15 July

Minister of planning gives priority

GMT 19:45 2017 Wednesday ,05 April

President of Senegal Meets Attorney General

GMT 05:18 2017 Thursday ,21 September

Over 80 missing after migrant boat sinks off Libya

GMT 19:22 2017 Saturday ,01 April

UN: Number of Syrian Refugees Tops 5 million

GMT 15:16 2016 Thursday ,29 September

FBI to put up database on police use of deadly force

GMT 05:06 2016 Friday ,30 September

Indian markets open flat
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday