China begins operating bullet trains at 350 kmph speed

BEIJING: China today began operating its indigenously designed bullet trains which can clock 350 kmph speed, the country's first passenger train using Electric Multiple Units technology.

The China Railway Corporation announced that Train No G8041 departed from Dalian for Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning.

It is the first passenger service using China Standard Electric Multiple Units (EMU) trains, Zhou Li, head of technological management at the China Railway Corporation, the national rail operator, said.

"China independently owns the design of the EMU and it will be a leading model for China to export to the world," Zhou said.

China has developed its high-speed technology in recent years modelled on Japan and Germany bullet train technologies and rapidly expanded their network to improve connectivity.

The China Standard EMU uses the latest exterior design, reduces energy consumption, and adopts a standard parts design. It has reinforced safety features compared with old models, Zhou said.

The trains can touch a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Currently, China's high-speed trains clocks around 280 kmph.

China's EMU fleet of 2,470 trains is the world's largest, and the total length of high-speed track in the country - 19,000 km - represents 60 per cent of the global total.

China will offer rail products and solutions according to the needs of various countries, Zhou said.

Chinese bullet trains have already found international customers in Indonesia, Russia, Iran and India, the report said.

While China is trying to aggressively market its technology, it is currently conducting a feasibility study for the Chennai-Delhi corridor while Japan has clinched the deal to build bullet train tracks in the Mumbai-Ahemedabad corridor.

Construction of a 150-km high-speed link between the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Bandung began in January 2016.

It will cut travel time between the two cities by about two thirds.

The project is almost entirely Chinese, including the technical standards, survey and design, construction, equipment manufacturing and personnel training, the report added.