Friends of the Rail Forum

China tests 500 km/h super high-speed train

BEIJING | Mon Dec 26, 2011 8:45am GMT

(Reuters) - China launched a super-rapid test train over the weekend which is capable of travelling 500 kilometers per hour, state media said on Monday, as the country moves ahead with its railway ambitions despite serious problems on its high-speed network.

The train, made by a subsidiary of CSR Corp Ltd, China's largest train maker, is designed to resemble an ancient Chinese sword, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It "will provide useful reference for current high-speed railway operations," it quoted train expert Shen Zhiyun as saying.

But future Chinese trains will not necessarily run at such high speeds, CSR chairman Zhao Xiaogang told the Beijing Morning News.

"We aims to ensure the safety of trains operation," he said.

China's railway industry has had a tough year, highlighted by a collision between two high-speed trains in July which killed at least 40 people. Construction of new high-speed trains in China has since been a near halt.

In February, the railways minister, Liu Zhijun, a key figure behind the boom in the sector, was dismissed over corruption charges that have not yet been tried in court.

(Reporting by Sabrina Mao and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Chinese 500 km/h supertrain on test

Railway Gazette
05 January 2012

CHINA: CSR Qingdao Sifang unveiled an ultra high-speed test train in December. As foreshadowed in the January 2011 edition of Railway Gazette International, the six-car trainset is intended to give engineers the opportunity to research train and track behaviour at speeds up to 500 km/h.

Researchers will explore fields including wheel-rail dynamics, structural reliability, new materials and technologies, comfort, vibration and noise. Other tests will examine safety parameters, current collection and aerodynamic performance; the train has a long, pointed nose said to resemble a traditional Chinese sword.

All vehicles are powered to give a total rating of 22·8 MW. Local reports suggest that the train features very lightweight structures and materials including carbon-fibre composites and a number of nano-components.

The trainset was developed with the support of the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Science & Technology, with input from the China Academy of Railway Sciences, Beijing Jiaotong University, Southwest Jiaotong University and the Institute of Mechanics, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.