Chinese Railways

staff · #1 Posted **Sep 29, 2009, 6:42 AM**

I think it's time we start such a thread about the world's leading railway builder.

Some basic info from SSC about the HSR plans until 2012:

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-dog

"4 horizontal 4 vertical" HSR (China high speed rail) network built by 2012
Total HSR length 13,000km, including 5000km rail of 250kmph and 8000km of 350kmph
Network covering central and western China, inlcuding Chongqing
7-hour trip expected from Chongqing to Beijing or Shanghai by 2012
Total rail network length reaching 110,000km by 2012

(重庆晚报)

-------------------

From SSC:

Quote:

Originally Posted by clkgtr

Leading-edge BOMBARDIER ZEFIRO technology to feature maximum operating speeds of 380 kph

Bombardier Transportation announced today that its Chinese joint venture, Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd., has been selected by the Chinese Ministry of Railways (MOR) to supply 80 ZEFIRO 380 very high speed trains (1,120 cars) for the country’s rapidly growing high speed rail network. The contract, including 20 eight-car trainsets and 60 sixteen-car trainsets, is valued at an estimated 27.4 billion Chinese Renminbis ($4 billion US, 2.7 billion euros).[1] Bombardier’s share of the contract is estimated at 13.5 billion Chinese Renminbis, ($2 billion US, 1.3 billion euros).[1] The first train is scheduled for delivery in 2012 with final deliveries expected in 2014.

The new trainsets will be an integral part of an evolving high speed rail capability in China, which is developing more than 6,000 km of new high speed lines to create one of the most advanced high speed rail networks in the world. The trains, with maximum operating speeds of 380 kph, are based on Bombardier’s next-generation ZEFIRO high speed rail technology, and powered by a highly energy efficient BOMBARDIER MITRAC propulsion and control system.

The ZEFIRO 380 trainsets will also incorporate Bombardier’s advanced ECO4 energy saving technologies to create best-in-class energy and operating efficiencies. Bombardier launched its ECO4 technology package in 2008 as part of an ongoing focus to extend rail’s position as the most sustainable form of transportation in the world. Bombardier is first in the industry to create a new formula for total train performance with a portfolio that can create substantial overall energy savings of up to 50%.

The ZEFIRO 380 trains will be manufactured at Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation production facilities in Qingdao, China. Engineering will take place in Qingdao and at Bombardier centers in Europe with project management and components provided from sites in Europe and China.

Established in 1998, Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd. is a joint venture between Bombardier and CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Ltd. dedicated to supplying passenger rail rolling stock for China. It has delivered over 1,000 passenger rail cars into China since its inception, including a range of high speed trains and high-grade passenger coaches

1ajs · #2 Posted **Sep 29, 2009, 7:05 AM**

o wow

llamaorama · #3 Posted **Sep 29, 2009, 8:17 AM**

380 kmh= 230 mph

damn. that's awesome. Are all the new lines engineered to that, or are these going to be used on a special route?

R@ptor · #4 Posted **Sep 29, 2009, 11:12 AM**

Impressive plans, however I'm a bit surprised that there aren't more plans for HSR lines in the south such as Guangzhou-Zhanjiang-Haikou-Sanya or Guangzhou-Nanning-Kunming.

Considering the growth rates of the Hainan and Kunming airports those routes should be quite profitable.

The Chemist · #5 Posted **Sep 29, 2009, 11:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by llamaorama

380 kmh= 230 mphdamn. that's awesome. Are all the new lines engineered to that, or are these going to be used on a special route?

I'm pretty sure they'll be used on the 350km/h lines being built now - including the world's longest single HSR route, the 1300km Shanghai-Beijing line. This line, when complete in 2012, will cut the journey time by train between the two cities from a current 10 hours to only 4 hours. Ticket prices are expected to be around 500RMB one way, which is more than competitive with air travel on the price front too.

staff · #6 Posted **Sep 30, 2009, 6:07 AM**

I'm not going to make it a habit posting stuff related to public transportation in this thread, but here's a plan for the future metro system of Beijing:

staff · #7 Posted **Sep 30, 2009, 6:11 AM**

Some small/medium sized Chinese railway stations:

Yanchen Station:

baidu

Taizhou Station:

9Tour

Yan An Station:

Chinese Railways

Yantai Station:

baidu

Huaihua Station:

big-dog

Chifeng Station:

Hidden Dragon 99

Yiwu Station:

baidu

Zhangjiajie Station:

baidu

Wuchang Station:

big-dog

Lhasa Station:

Andrew

staff · #8 Posted **Sep 30, 2009, 2:24 PM**

Ningbo-Fuzhou (via Taizhou and Wenzhou) HSR opened two days ago, from SSC:

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-dog

Crossing Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province, part of Yanhai (along sea shore) HSR
Total length: 580.8km
Speed: 250kmph
Construction: 4 years
Bridge/tunnel: 66% of total length
73 Tunnels with longest Zhongyandang tunnel 7.971km
246 bridges with Ningbo Mega bridge 10.251km long

(http://news.xinmin.cn/rollnews/2009/09/29/2652366.html)

muppet · #9 Posted **Sep 30, 2009, 8:18 PM**

^ wow, only four years to build

Aleks · #10 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 4:09 AM**

Damn! That first train is fucking amazing! Wish something like this was build in the US.

Or maybe I should move to China! Gotta learn Chinese first though...

Gordo · #11 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 4:27 AM**

Very nice. A 10 km long bridge? An 8 km long tunnel? Bridge/tunnel for 66% of its length?!?! The route must be incredibly mountainous, no?

Four years to finish that kind of thing is absolutely mind blowing.

Jasonhouse · #12 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 11:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordo

Very nice. A 10 km long bridge? An 8 km long tunnel? Bridge/tunnel for 66% of its length?!?! The route must be incredibly mountainous, no?

Four years to finish that kind of thing is absolutely mind blowing.

The work the Chinese are doing is yet another reminder that America is no longer the world's innovator.

Jonovision · #13 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 1:50 PM**

Amazing! Simply amazing!
The architecture of the stations is great. Although my one complaint would be that lots of the don't appear to be very incorporated into their surroundings. They are just surrounded by parking and roads. I'd much rather see that stuff go underground with more intense development happening right around the stations.

jtk1519 · #14 Posted **Oct 3, 2009, 12:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

The work the Chinese are doing is yet another reminder that America is no longer the world's innovator.

Communism, it gets shit done.

mwadswor · #15 Posted **Oct 5, 2009, 3:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

The work the Chinese are doing is yet another reminder that America is no longer the world's innovator.

Oftentimes I would agree with you, but not in this case. Once the planning and funding is made available, the actual construction gets done plenty quickly here. The difference in China has nothing to do with innovative construction techniques or anything like that, it has to do with living in an autocracy. The government wanted it built, so it got built.

Looks mind blowing watching it get built from the outside. It's probably a lot less appealing if you're living in front of the line and you have pretty much no opportunity to work with any kind of EIR to find the optimal route that disrupts the fewest people. Sorry, I mean it's a lot less appealing if you're a poor person living in the way. Similarly, where you're looking at a route that's 60% bridge/tunnel. Perhaps it would have taken longer to build in the US, but I guarantee that a more efficient route could have been found. And that's not even considering any environmental damage that the construction may have/may be causing. We have no way of knowing what that could be because the Chinese don't bother to look.

Not saying that the US method isn't a bureaucratic hell that is in desperate need of some streamlining, but don't make the Chinese approach out to be some great innovation. Drawing a line on a map and then pouring in money and cheap labor without "wasting" time on silly things like planning or EIRs is not exactly innovative. It's been the autocratic way for millenia.

JDRCRASH · #16 Posted **Oct 5, 2009, 4:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwadswor

Oftentimes I would agree with you, but not in this case. Once the planning and funding is made available, the actual construction gets done plenty quickly here. The difference in China has nothing to do with innovative construction techniques or anything like that, it has to do with living in an autocracy. The government wanted it built, so it got built.

You bring up an interesting point. If the US was like that, we would have built a HSR system years, maybe decades ago.

ardecila · #17 Posted **Oct 14, 2009, 9:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwadswor

Similarly, where you're looking at a route that's 60% bridge/tunnel. Perhaps it would have taken longer to build in the US, but I guarantee that a more efficient route could have been found. And that's not even considering any environmental damage that the construction may have/may be causing.

The bridge/tunnel construction is an environmental measure. It isolates the noise of the rail line from inhabitants and diverts runoff from ground or surface water (not that there's a ton of runoff from an electric train...)

For comparison...
Detroit Amtrak Station

Houston Amtrak Station

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal

staff · #18 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 8:04 AM**

Some larger stations;

Beijing West:

fxxj.com

New Suzhou Central Station:

skyscrapers.cn

Wuhan:

skyscrapers.cn

Fuzhou:

big-dog

Beijing North renovation:

big-dog

Qingdao:

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/p/2008-07-...15963088.shtml

Chengdu:

bbs.home.news.cn

Nanjing South:

(bbs.home.news.cn)

Guangzhou:

Shanghai West

Shenzhen North Station

(skyscrapers.cn)

New Dalian Station

by chenxiaohai at http://dlskyscrapers.5d6d.com

Tianjin West Station.

Pics by dinfengyuan.

staff · #19 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 8:18 AM**

From SSC:

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-dog

Length:968km
Max speed: 350 km/h
Completion: 2010

(baidu.com)

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-dog

Xiamen-Shenzhen express Rail

Period: 2008.1.6 ~ 2011
Cost: 41.7 billion
Length: 502.4km
Speed: 200kmh
Location: Fujian - Guangdong province

construction pics

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-dog

Harbin-Dalian express rail

Length: 904km
Project started: 8/23/2007
Finishing: 2013, some parts finish by 2010
Speed: 350kmph
Cost: 92.3 billion Yuan

Railway station: will build 18 new station, renovate 9 existing station
Bridges: 2/3 rail elevated, 162 bridges (bridge length 663km)
Location: Liaoning Province (553km), Jilin Province (270km), Heilongjiang Province (81km)

Map

Construction pics:

2007 kick-off

8.2008

1.2009

3.6.2009

(baidu.com)

staff · #20 Posted **Oct 1, 2009, 8:22 AM**