China opens new high speed railway line
CRH380 : China's home-made "Bullet train"
The opening of China's Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed line is the latest addition to the country's rapidly expanding railway network.
The newly built high-speed connection between the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou has gone into service on the 26 of november, cutting travel time between the two cities from 90 minutes to 45 minutes. On the 200km line, CRH380 bullet trains will transport passengers up to a top speed of 350 km per hour. Proud of the new line, officials hope to improve the top speed.
The announcement is the latest after record breaking runs. Earlier last month, a train hit a speed of about 420 km per hour, a world train speed record.
China launched its first high-speed line linking the capital and the port city of Tianjin during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The country high-speed network already covers only 7430 km but thanks to strong investments and political commitment, it is planned to have more than 110 000 km of railway by 2012, including 13 00 km of high-speed rail. Among high-speed lines put into service recently is the Wuhan-Guangzhou line linking central and south China; the Zhengzhou-Xi'an line connecting central and western China; and the Shanghai-Nanjing line in the country's east.
Sources: railway-technology.com, inhabitat