China returning to faster 350 kph high speed rail operation using improved trains

China has a new all domestic high speed train. It is the “China-standard” train G8041. It started operation on Harbin-Dalian line between Harbin, capital of China’s northernmost province of Heilongjiang, and the port city of Dalian in Liaoning province, August 15, 2016.

The “China-standard” bullet trains, officially known as electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, have started operation in northeast China’s Liaoning Province. The new trains can operate at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, have been independently researched and manufactured by China Railway Corporation, the national rail operator. The trains mark a new milestone in the country’s effort to build a high tech railway network in the country.

After the 2011 Wenzhou train collision, the Chinese Minister of Railways cut the operating speed of Chinese high-speed trains. The speed of the second-tier ‘D’ trains reduced from 250 to 200 km/h (155 to 124 mph). The speed of the remaining 350 km/h (220 mph) trains between Shanghai and Hangzhou was reduced to 300 km/h (186 mph) as of 28 August 2011.

China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, with a total operating length reaching 19,000 km by the end of 2015, about 60 percent of the world’s total.

China Railway Corporation plans to spend 800 billion yuan, or around 120 billion dollars on railways in 2016, especially in less-developed central and western regions of the country.

SOURCES- China news, wikipedia