High Speed Rail in China
| High-speed rail in China | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国高速铁路 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中國高速鐵路 | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhōngguó Gāosù Tiělù |
High-speed rail (HSR) in China is officially defined as passenger-dedicated railways designed to carry multiple unit trains at speeds of 250–350 km/h (155–217 mph). Certain mixed use freight and passenger rail lines, that can be upgraded for train speeds of 250 km/h, with current passenger service of at least 200 km/h (124 mph), are also considered high-speed rail. The country's HSR network, which in 2016 extended to 29 of the country's 33 provincial-level administrative divisions and exceeded 22,000 km (14,000 mi) in total length, accounted for about two-thirds of the world's high-speed rail tracks in commercial service. The world's longest HSR network is also the most extensively used, with 1.44 billion trips delivered in 2016.
HSR trains, track and service are owned and operated by the China Railway Corporation. The China Railway High-speed (CRH) high-speed train service was introduced in April 2007 featuring high-speed train sets running at 250 km/h on upgraded track. The Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail, which opened in August 2008 and could carry high-speed trains at 350 km/h (217 mph), was the first passenger dedicated HSR line.
High-speed rail developed rapidly in China over the past 15 years thanks to generous funding from the Chinese government, especially the economic stimulus program during the Great Recession. The removal of Railway Minister Liu Zhijun for corruption and a fatal high-speed railway accident near Wenzhou in 2011 raised concerns about safety as well as affordability, financial sustainability and environmental impact. The HSR building boom has nevertheless continued with the HSR network set to reach 38,000 km (24,000 mi) in 2025 and 45,000 km (28,000 mi) in the longer term.
...
Wikipedia