China Unveils New Light Rail Car
2008-04-14
China recently introduced its first domestically produced high-speed train car. The train-car was produced in the northern city of Tangshan by the China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp.
The eight-carriage train, with a streamlined body made of light aluminum alloy, can seat 557 passengers.
Three such trains are planned to provide service on the new 120-km Beijing-Tianjin route before the Olympics starts in August which will cut the travel time from 80 minutes at present to 30 minutes.
In all, 57 such trains are expected to be in commercial operation by the end of 2009. The train is based on the Siemens ICE 3.
The Beijing-Tianjin railway is considered a trial line for the 1,318-km Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, which will be completed in five years and run at 300 km/hr to 350 km/hr.
By 2020, the total length of such railways will reach 18,000 km and express train services will cover 50,000 km, benefiting 90 percent of China's population, according to the government.
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