China’s high-speed railway network is expected to span 18,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) by the end of this year. China will add another 2,000 kilometers of high-speed railroad by the end of this year. This is part of the government’s plan to put more than 8,000 kilometers of extra lines in both regular and fast-speed railway networks into operation. By the end of this year, all cities in China with a population of more than half a million will be connected by high- speed railways.
China plans to build more high-speed railroads in the nation’s western region during the 13th (and next) Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), as well as export more high-end railway equipment products to overseas markets.
China will continue to deploy more resources and manpower to further develop “smart trains”, which apply intelligent technology that will allow trains ‘speed control, condition determination and fault detection operations to be performed digitally.
China has also set a target for carrying out research and making innovations in the permanent magnetic motor technology for the high-speed train power systems, as most of the existing units run on alternating current.
“Permanent magnetic motors will consume less energy and improve trains’ reliability, which is a trend in the research on high-speed trains,” said Wang.
A permanent magnet synchronous traction system is basically a motor that uses permanent magnets rather than a magnetic field created by windings of the rotor to propel the train forward. That means the new 690-kilowatt traction system has significantly fewer parts and is lighter and more efficient, allowing China’s already-speedy bullet trains to go 50 percent faster.
* new synchronous traction will allow high speed rail to go 50% faster
* new system boasts more power
* simpler configuration
* lower electrical consumption
* more reliable and efficient
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.
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