China Masters Technology for High-speed Rail

In 2009, the Eurostar, which operates between Paris and London, lost power in the Channel Tunnel due to cold weather. Over 2,000 passengers were stranded for 14 hours.

Designing trains that can withstand temperatures tens of degrees below zero for long periods of time is a technical challenge, and even more so when the trains are hoped to run at 350 km/h. China set out to work on the task in 2010.

The first problem relates to the roadbed. At first Chinese trains could only function at temperatures above minus 25 degrees centigrade.

Chinese engineers on the Dalian-Harbin project first drew on the experiences of the team that constructed the Qinghai-Tibet Railway across permafrost.

After additional research, they hit upon a solution. Zhou Li, director general of the Science and Technology Department at the Ministry of Railways (MOR), announced the success of the project in tackling frost heaving, a major challenge for rail line construction in very cold regions. Engineers adopted a series of measures to prevent a modified version of the homemade CRH380B train from the damaging effects of water condensation at extremely low temperatures. The engineers had tweaked many parts of the train, including the electrical system, the body and the brake system, to ensure condensation drains before it has time to freeze.

The CRH380B trains were tested in all weather conditions. They passed with flying colors, momentarily reaching 385 km/h in a winter speed test run, and 350 km/h in sustained operation. Kong Feng, director of the Passenger Train Development Department of the Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd., developer of the CRH380B trains, said that numerous tests had proved the Harbin-Dalian railway to be a model of safety and a success in terms of technology and speed.

A China-made Success

The fast development of China’s high-speed rail is attributed to effective cooperation between engineers, researchers, universities and scientific institutes. According to He Huawu, chief engineer at the MOR, organizations and individuals that have participated in the development of high-speed rail include 25 institutions of higher learning, 11 scientific research institutes, 51 national laboratories, 63 academicians, 500-odd professors, over 200 researchers and more than 10,000 engineering technicians.

The result of the collaboration is a high-speed rail network based on Chinese innovation and local technological know-how. It is a victory for the country’s engineers and scientists.

By studying and innovating imported technologies, China first mastered the production of trains with maximum speeds of 200 to 250 km/h. It then independently developed trains with a maximum safe operating speed of 350 km/h in the form of the CRH380 series train-set. These achievements proved China to be leading the world in high-speed train development.

The train head represents a particularly bold piece of indigenous engineering. According to Gong Ming, chief engineer of the CSR Sifang Co., Ltd, China’s leading locomotives manufacturer, the most rigorous scientific experiments and tests all related to development of the train head, the key component both in terms of aerodynamics and power in propelling trains to high speeds.

China’s high-speed trains are now technologically more advanced than Japan’s Shinkansen, for many years the world leader in fast-train technology. Data show that China’s self-made CRH380A train has a tractive power 9,600 kilowatts, while the CRH2, co-produced by China and Japan but using Japanese technologies, manages only 4,88 kilowatts. The former boasts a maximum operating speed of 380 km/h, while the latter tops out at 200-250 km/h.

The aerodynamic drag of the CRH380A train head has been reduced by 15.4 percent compared to the earlier model and aerodynamic noise has been shaved by seven percent. Its wheel-rail contact stress is 10 to 12 percent lower than the European Standard. The air tightness pressure of the train body has been raised from 4,000 Pa to 6,000 Pa, ensuring structural integrity and safe operation as two trains pass each other inside a tunnel at a speed of 350 km/h.

Riding a CRH380A train along the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, one reporter from the Tokyo Broadcasting System commented that by his assessment the train was very advanced, and boasted many technologies that even Japan’s Shinkansen series lacked.

China’s high-speed rail is the best in the world by many other technological indicators, such as minimum curve radius, maximum grade, distance between centers of tracks and tunnel clearance. In these aspects, trains running between Beijing and Tianjin, Wuhan and Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and Xi’an, Shanghai and Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and Beijing and Shanghai are all world-beaters.

According to He Huawu, China now has a full set of technical standard systems in terms of project construction, high-speed train development, operation and safety control; railway station construction, systems integration, operation and maintenance, and environmental protection. He commented: “Should other countries wish to develop high-speed networks, China’s experience is well-worth studying.”

China has been using its railway-building prowess to lend a hand to Southeast Asia as it develops its railway interconnectivity. Joint construction with Laos is underway on a track that will connect Kunming, Yunnan Province, with Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is scheduled to extend to Singapore in 2015 and will become an important part of the Trans-Asian Railway Network.

Meanwhile China has made plans to build a transcontinental railway network linking China to Central Asia, Russia and Southeast Asian nations. Agreements have been signed with many countries, including Russia, on the proposals.

Chinese railway corporations could also be set to do business in America, with CRS Corporation Ltd. recently signing an agreement on cooperation with General Electric Co. (GE). The two agreed to set up a joint venture in the U.S.

“The agreement on cooperation has proven that there is no obstacle blocking the application of Chinese-developed technology to potential high-speed railway development projects in the U.S.,” said He Huawu.