China is aiming this year to break the world rail speed record which is currently held by the French with a 356 mph run in 2007.
A Chinese high-speed train has already reached 301 mph on the new Beijing-Shanghai main line which will be completed this year.
The Chinese are also expanding internationally, with plans to build a 125 mph line from China to Singapore, through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia and a separate line from Kunming to Rangoon in Burma.
Yet another line is planned from China, through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan to Iran.
Currently there are 15,000 miles of high-speed rail throughout the world, with China leading at 4,679 miles, said Railways Minister Liu Zhijun.
The Japanese were first on the scene in 1964 with the Tokyo-Tokaido bullet train, followed in 1981 by the French with Paris-Lyon.
China’s first high-speed line was as recent as 2008 but by 2020, it plans to have 10,000 miles of high-speed line.
By contrast, in backward Britain protesters staged a protest meeting in Warwickshire today (19 February 2011) against plans for a high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham.
Information from China Daily.
High-speed world
Author: Ray King - Published Sat 19 of Feb, 2011 11:20 GMT - (5091 Reads)
Sakura 924 will offer another new Japanese high-speed service from Shin-Ōsaka to Kagoshima in Japan when the Kyushu Shinkansen is fully opened on 12 March 2011. Picture: http://mdn.mainichi.ip