beijingshanghai highspeed train makes debut
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Less than 5 hours

Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train makes debut

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train makes debut

Beijing-Shanghai express
Shanghai - AFP

Beijing-Shanghai express High-speed trains linking Beijing and Shanghai made their passenger debut Thursday on a $33 billion track China hopes will help ease its overloaded transport system. Premier Wen Jiabao declared the link "in operation" at Beijing South rail station before boarding the first sleek-nosed white train that will take passengers to Shanghai, the country's commercial hub, in less than five hours.
He said the high-speed line -- launched on the eve of celebrations to mark the 90th birthday of China's communist party -- would be key to "improving the modern transport system... and satisfying people's travelling needs."
The line, which has been operating on a trial basis since mid-May, halves the journey time between the country's two main cities and could hurt airlines on the busy route plagued by delays and cancellations.
"The high-speed train is fast and more convenient than a plane," 38-year-old Xu Yuhua told AFP as she waited with her 10-year-old daughter to board the first train for Shanghai, which left promptly at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT).
Armed and ordinary police were on high alert at the station, where 10 of the gleaming trains were lined up for departure. Excited passengers posed for photographs in front of the train and outside their carriages.
The fast link, which has been hit by safety concerns and graft, is opening a year ahead of schedule and will be able to carry 80 million passengers a year -- double the current capacity on the 1,318-kilometre (820-mile) route.
"It could play a transformational role in shaping the future economic dynamics in coastal China... by creating more spillover effects to regions lying along the sprawling high-speed railway line," Ren Xianfang, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, told AFP.
But for the airline industry, the impact could be "destructive", she warned.
One-way ticket prices will cost 410-1,750 yuan ($63-$270) subject to further adjustments, vice rail minister Hu Yadong said this month, compared with about 1,300 yuan for a flight.
In response, airlines have slashed some ticket prices by up to 65 percent to below the cost of the cheapest rail pass, state media said Wednesday, citing travel website ctrip.com.
But Frederic Campagnac, general manager of transport and logistics consultancy Clevy China, believes the fast link will have a positive impact on airlines by forcing operators to be on time.
It will "put pressure on the airlines to keep more on their schedule," Campagnac said.
Work on the high-speed railway started in April 2008 with a planned investment of 220.9 billion yuan.
China spent heavily on its high-speed rail network, which spanned 8,358 kilometres at the end of 2010 and is expected to exceed 13,000 kilometres by 2012 and 16,000 kilometres by 2020.
But huge investment has also made the sector a hotbed for corruption, which has raised concerns over costs and safety.
China's state auditor in March said construction companies and individuals last year siphoned off 187 million yuan in funds meant for the Beijing-Shanghai link.
This followed the sacking of former railways minister Liu Zhijun in February, who allegedly took more than 800 million yuan in kickbacks over several years on contracts linked to China's high-speed network.
The railway ministry has said the trains would run between 250 and 300 kilometres per hour on the new link, which is designed for a maximum speed of 380 kph.
The speed is in line with a nationwide directive made public in April that said all high-speed trains must run slower than previously announced -- no faster than 300 kph -- for safety.
Despite the slower speeds, urban areas within 300-400 kilometres of Beijing and Shanghai "will become kind of suburbs to the big cities" because it will be possible to do a return trip in one day, Campagnac said.
"All the cities on the way will benefit from the line," he said.

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*

beijingshanghai highspeed train makes debut beijingshanghai highspeed train makes debut

 



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*

beijingshanghai highspeed train makes debut beijingshanghai highspeed train makes debut

 



GMT 07:24 2017 Thursday ,09 February

Drugmaker Teva says Israel probing kickback allegations

GMT 18:19 2012 Friday ,18 May

Hot weather to continue during weekend in UAE

GMT 03:34 2012 Saturday ,08 September

Mitsubishi motors’ outlander phev

GMT 15:20 2017 Saturday ,09 September

'Monster' Irma roars towards Florida

GMT 19:27 2015 Thursday ,01 October

Double Dutch barred in Amsterdam brothels

GMT 09:12 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Joy and hope in Liberia as George Weah sworn in

GMT 16:07 2016 Wednesday ,10 August

Rousseff impeachment in focus

GMT 12:49 2018 Thursday ,11 January

Macron urges European unity

GMT 15:16 2016 Wednesday ,08 June

EU Presents new aid to stop African Migrants influx

GMT 10:51 2017 Wednesday ,24 May

ADEC suspends registration of new students

GMT 19:19 2016 Thursday ,22 December

Lebanon the ‘post-Aleppo’ government

GMT 06:47 2018 Thursday ,04 January

Norway suspends arms exports to UAE over Yemen war

GMT 06:38 2017 Tuesday ,21 November

Putin and Assad met in Sochi

GMT 05:27 2017 Monday ,14 August

TRA to host 75th RIPE meeting in October
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice 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 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice