South China’s island province Hainan began a trial run on Thursday of a new stretch of track that completes the world’s first high-speed train line circling an island.
Up to 20 empty trains will run on the 345-km Western Ring Railway per day in the trial period. Exercises will test responses to emergency situations. The western stretch will be officially put into operation at the end of this year with a designed speed of 200 km per hour, according to its operator, the Guangzhou Railway Corporation.
The western stretch has 16 stops in six cities and counties, linking provincial capital Haikou with Sanya, a tropical tourist spot. It began construction in Sept 2013 with an investment of 27 billion yuan ($4.23 billion).
The island has a lot of tourists from other parts of China
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.