First high-speed train takes the rail, pulls China into high-speed era

First high-speed train takes the rail, pulls China into high-speed era

GOV.cn Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Photo taken on April 12, 2007 shows CRH (China Railway High-Speed) bullet trains at the CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co, Ltd. in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. [Xinhua Photo] Numbered D460, the train designed to run at a speed of 200 km per hour left east China's Shanghai for Suzhou at 5:38 a.m. Wednesday, April 18, 2007, ushering in a high-speed era for the world's fastest growing economy. [Xinhua Photo] A passenger waves from inside D460£¬the first high-speed train to hit the rail, before it leaves Shanghai for Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province early Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007. The train marks the beginning of the sixth "speed boost" of Chinese railways, which has been hard-pressed to cope with the country's hunger for bigger transport capacity. [Xinhua Photo] Jiang Bilin (R1), chief train attendant of D460, gives instructions to the sanitory workers before the train leaves Shanghai for Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province early Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007. [Xinhua Photo] An elderly couple walk along the platform to board D460, the first high-speed train to hit the rail, in Shanghai early Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007. [Xinhua Photo] File photo taken on April 5, 2007 shows a CRH (China Railway High-Speed) bullet train in a test operation along the railway between Beijing and Shanghai. [Xinhua Photo] A train designed to run at a speed of 200 km per hour left east China's Shanghai for Suzhou early Wednesday morning, ushering in a high-speed era for the world's fastest growing economy. Nationwide, 140 pairs of high-speed trains with a speed of 200 km per hour or a faster speed will begin to hit the railways on Wednesday. The number will increase to 257 by the end of this year. Numbered D460, the train left Shanghai at 5:38 a.m. and is expected to arrive in Suzhou 39 minutes later. Wednesday marks the the beginning of the sixth "speed boost" of Chinese railways, which has been hard-pressed to cope with the country's hunger for bigger transport capacity. Chinese railway officials said last year, China fulfilled a quarter of the world's total railway transport volume on railways accounting for only 6 percent of the world's total length. "The sixth speed lift will boost passenger capacity and cargo capacity by over 18 percent and over 12 percent respectively," said Hu Yadong, vice-minister of railways.

China considers cutting ticket prices for bullet train services China starts selling bullet train tickets More high-speed trains to hit rails China to test 500kph maglev trains by 2010

Editor: Yangtze Yan Source: