China High Speed Rail

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by N830MH

How about high-speed rail expansion to Hong Kong? Will they consider it?

They're building it right now. It's the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link, with the Hong Kong terminus station located at Kowloon Station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangzh...ress_Rail_Link

Originally Posted by N830MH

Do you have construction photos? I would like to see it.

I saw the massive construction site in Hong Kong a couple of months ago. Here's the best photo I have of the site and all you can see is construction hoarding and cranes since the focus of the picture was the massive (it feels like the right superlative today) mixed-use development that was built atop the MTR Airport Express Station (all the buildings visible in the picture).


I took this photo February 23rd, 2014.

[Fabb]

Is that where the new station will be ?
There's plenty of room indeed. A few years ago, the site was occupied by sport facilities, wasn't it ?
A cultural center designed by Foster (a giant canopy), was also projected in the area.

I hope the station will come with a few tall skyscapers.

[mthd]

i rode a chinese hsr train from luoyang to beijing a week or so ago. the "business class" section (which is the top level, better than first) is really nice. comfy seats that flatten out, only three per row, power, table, etc.

the service is horribly bad - and you have to ignore the incredibly unprofessional train staff running around yelling and so on, but the train itself, very nice. nicest i've been on in china.

[M II A II R II K]

All aboard: China's railway dream

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28289319

.....

China's great railway adventure is picking up steam. The maps on the walls of the headquarters of the Chengdu Logistics Office make it obvious how rail can transform the fortunes of west China. --- Until now, shipping goods down the Yangtse and then loading them onto ocean-going ships has enormously disadvantaged inland-China. Now, said logistics chief Chen Zhongwei, the days of foreigners knowing only coastal cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong are over.

- Chengdu claims that half the world's top companies are now moving production bases west and that the software is following the hardware. In Chengdu's business park, I watched programmers and graphic designers fine-tune Spartan Wars: Gods of Olympus. It's a new game targeting Europe and North America from a Chengdu-based company called tap4fun. The glass walls of their offices open and close with fingerprint scanners. Their break out zone is complete with table tennis, running machines and pictures of Apple founder Steve Jobs. --- Jacob Maynard from Arizona told me rail has made a huge difference. "Transportation has actually been quite revolutionary," he said. "It has opened up lots of opportunities when before, it was an absolute nightmare. Now it is much more convenient both going west and east."

- Once famous as the world's factory for low-technology and labour intensive products, China is now adding bullet trains to the mix, a symbol of its ability to shift up the technology ladder. Ambition doesn't stop there. Not content with a high-speed grid at home and lucrative railway contracts abroad, Beijing is considering both funding and building high-speed lines from west China through Central Asia to Europe and from south-west China through South East Asia to Singapore. --- The challenges are immense: persuading Central Asian states to move to standard gauge tracks and tackling security to add to the enormous diplomatic, financial and technical hurdles. But China has advantages in this game: enormous economies of scale, the absence of a political cycle to disrupt long-term planning, state-owned rail builders with deep pockets, and not least control of the media.

- Back at the Chengdu cargo hub, loading is finished and the train departs on its two week journey to Europe. If China realises its dream for a high-speed route in the same direction, passengers may one day make the trip in two days. It seems almost unimaginable but many observers would have laughed if you'd said 10 years ago that China's rail builders could come from so far behind to undercut the market leaders on their own doorstep. Watch this space.

.....

[Fabb]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

All aboard: China's railway dream

Beijing is considering both funding and building high-speed lines from west China through Central Asia to Europe and from south-west China through South East Asia to Singapore.

I seriously doubt that it would be a good investment, unless plane travel becomes virtually impossible because of a financial or ecological disaster.
Do the chinese authorities see that coming or do they just desperately need new mega-projects for the near future to sustain the economy ?

[Jasonhouse]

My guess is part of the motivation is their desire to do HSR freight.

http://www.worldfinance.com/infrastr...ure-of-freight

Which isn't just a transport play, but also a resource play for China, as they have already done elsewhere in the developing world. They come in and offer to build infrastructure you can't, in exchange for access to natural resources your economy isn't utilizing anyways.

[M II A II R II K]

Also a 2 day trip from China to Europe with more comfortable accommodation, and great for rail ride enthusiasts.

[M II A II R II K]

China flexes its high-speed rail muscles by rolling out 32 new routes in one day

Read More: http://qz.com/308791/china-flexes-it...es-in-one-day/

Tomorrow China launches another 32 new high-speed rail routes, including a new link that cuts the 1,780 km (1106 miles) trip between Guangzhou and Shanghai to seven hours from 16. It’s an impressive feat that, if successful, is more proof of China’s resolve and capacity to become the global leader in high-speed rail technology.

- But China’s rail dreams have not been without setbacks. Last month, Mexico killed a deal in which China would build a $3.7 billion high-speed train link between Mexico City and the center of the country—the first time a Chinese company would have built an entire high-speed train system overseas. Earlier this year, a “rice for high-speed rail” deal with Thailand also fell apart. Both deals appear to have been torpedoed mainly because of domestic reasons, but critics say the Chinese bidders also failed to really understand their target markets.

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[hkskyline]

Velaro CN (CRH3C) Shenzhen North Railway Station, China by markrijs18, on Flickr

[M II A II R II K]

Beijing's first maglev line to start service late 2017

Read More: http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0916/c90000-9269974.html

Beijing's first medium-low speed maglev line is scheduled to start operation at the end of the year, the line operator said Saturday.Beijing Subway said it was preparing test runs.

Trains will stop at seven of the eight stations in the initial period as the Pingguoyuan interchange station is still under renovation and is expected to start service in late 2019, it said. A total of 10 trains will be put into use in the first stage of operation. With a maximum speed of 80 km per hour, the train is designed to carry a maximum 1,032 passengers at a time. The line, with a total length of 10.2 km, will help improve transport for the suburban Mentougou district and optimize the industrial structure in Shijingshan district, it said.

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[hkskyline]

West Kowloon Station (Hong Kong) Opening Day - Sept. 23





















































































More on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-hsr03.htm

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

West Kowloon Station (Hong Kong) Opening Day - Sept. 23



More on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-hsr03.htm

That's a great looking station. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to ride the rails from Shanghai to Hong Kong at some point in the future. I'm a big user of China's HSR system (this month alone I've been on the train for 40+ hours - Shanghai - Changzhou, Shanghai-Zhengzhou, Shanghai-Guangzhou, and Shanghai-Huizhou) when I travel for business, so of course I'll use this new addition as soon as I can.

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

That's a great looking station. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to ride the rails from Shanghai to Hong Kong at some point in the future. I'm a big user of China's HSR system (this month alone I've been on the train for 40+ hours - Shanghai - Changzhou, Shanghai-Zhengzhou, Shanghai-Guangzhou, and Shanghai-Huizhou) when I travel for business, so of course I'll use this new addition as soon as I can.

Yikes. That's a long trip even on the HSR. Not worth it. Just fly!

I think the HSR only works up until about 800-1000km around us.

[Innsertnamehere]

how long would that train ride even be?

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Yikes. That's a long trip even on the HSR. Not worth it. Just fly!

I think the HSR only works up until about 800-1000km around us.

I prefer the train even if it takes longer than flying (cost is basically a wash) because I don't have to deal with the excessive security theatre at airports and because the train is much more comfortable than flying (more leg room, much larger windows, etc). I can also get work done on the train since I still have internet access. And unlike flights which are often delayed in China, the train is almost always on time.

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

how long would that train ride even be?

It's 8 hours from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Flying would be 2.5 hours (plus 2 hours for getting to the airport in advance, plus waiting for luggage after getting off the plane, plus extra travel time to get where I'd want to be in Hong Kong as the airport is far out of the downtown area while the train station is right downtown).

[Dengler Avenue]

not least because Chinese airspace's tightly controlled by the military, from what I've heard, which makes for circuitous routes

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

not least because Chinese airspace's tightly controlled by the military, from what I've heard, which makes for circuitous routes

I don't know about any of that. It's no more controlled than airspace in any other country.

Honestly, flying in China is the same as anywhere else. Well, except that it's a lot cheaper so long as you stay domestic. I can take a flight for the equivalent of under a 100 bucks to a lot of cities that would take a day of driving. I was in a hurry to get home one time so I took a business class seat from Beijing to my home in Changchun. It cost about $230 bucks. It's roughly the same distance as Quebec City to London, Ont. So it was about half the price of a similar trip in Canada (I just checked) Also, there was no pre-booking for that trip so that undoubtedly cost me more as well.

Trains are cheaper but even the high speed ones are a lot slower than planes, of course. They're really comfortable and very modern. Actually, they're A LOT cheaper...even the HSR routes. That's why they're so popular, as near as I can tell. I mean, you can take a train and get somewhere in double or triple the time it takes to get there by plane BUT you can save upwards of double or triple as well. To take the plane over the train means you either have a preference for flying and will pay the premium for it or you're too busy and count your time using hours.

Great HSR system, nonetheless. Massive and efficient. It's pretty much the one thing in China that I can honestly works as advertised. I have no doubt that there are honest criticisms of the system (there's always something) but I believe that it IS a model the rest of the world could and should copy.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by Spocket

I don't know about any of that. It's no more controlled than airspace in any other country.

Compared to America and Europe it's extremely restrictive, although the military is slowly relaxing regulations.

-Up until 2013 all flights required the express permission from the PLA, a process that could take months. Today you still need express permission from the civilian CAA to fly, which could take weeks just a few years ago and still takes a day or two now. Airlines were and are allowed to schedule in advance, but it makes last minute repositioning aircraft for last minute swaps due to maintenance extremely difficult. By contrast US and European airlines are not require to get prior approval from a regulatory body to fly

-Until 2017 the PLA controlled over 70% of Chinese airspace and still controls the majority of it. Airline flights often have to be routed through narrow corridors between massive and mostly empty military training areas. The US military only controls 20% of US airspace and is very liberal about letting airliners pass through if there isn't any ongoing training. Europe restricts an even smaller percentage of its airspace for military purposes.

-China only allows a limited number of international flights into its airports, and is extremely restrictive about which destination pairs it will allow. For instance, Chinese authorities have refused to allow flights between San Diego and Bejing because Tijuana airport already has that service. But Tijuana is across the border in Mexico, so Americans have to go through customs twice to use it (and thus very few do). The US and Europe have no restrictions on the amount of flights coming in or out of their countries.

[M II A II R II K]

Boon or Boondoggle? The Cost and Benefit of China's Bullet Trains

https://macropolo.org/digital-projec.../introduction/

.....

- For the past 65 years, the United States has maintained the world’s largest interstate highway system. For the next 65 years, China is likely to maintain the world’s most extensive high-speed rail (HSR) network. That enormous investment, with a long time horizon, has caused consternation both within China and outside of it. --- Detractors have called it a monumental white elephant. Proponents have touted the myriad economic benefits the network brings. Returns on mega infrastructure projects are notoriously difficult to specify, and China’s HSR network is no exception. But with the passage of time, we can now better assess whether HSR was a boon or a royal boondoggle to the Chinese economy. --- So was it worth it? Our short answer: from an economic standpoint, it was worth it. Based on a careful cost and benefit analysis and using a framework similar to the World Bank’s, we estimate that the HSR network confers a net benefit of $378 billion to the Chinese economy and has an annual ROI of 6.5%.

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[plutonicpanda]

Here's a video from the B1M about China's HSR. Hate it or love you are insane to think this isn't impressive as hell.

• Video Link