High-speed Rail in The People's Republic of China

High-speed Rail In The People's Republic Of China

High-speed rail (HSR) trains in China

A China Railways CRH2C (left) and a China Railways CRH3C (right) train in Tianjin. The CRH2 is a modified E2-1000 Series Shinkansen. The CRH3 is based on Siemens' ICE3(class/Baureihe 403). An eight-car China Railways CRH5 train-set. The CRH5 is derived from the Alstom Pendolino ETR600. Chinese designed CRH380A train leaving Shanghai's Hongqiao Station. Shanghai Maglev Train

High-speed rail in China
Traditional Chinese	中國高速鐵路
Simplified Chinese	中国高速铁路
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Gāosù Tiělù

High-speed rail in China refers to any commercial train service in China with an average speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) or higher. By that measure, China has the world's longest high-speed rail (HSR) network with about 9,300 km (5,800 mi) of routes in service as of December 2012. The world's longest line opened in China on 25 December 2012. It runs 2,298 kilometers (1,428 miles) from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou.

High-speed rail service in China was introduced on April 18, 2007. Daily ridership has grown from 237,000 in 2007 to 1.33 million in 2012, making the Chinese high-speed rail network the busiest in the world. China's high speed rail network consists of upgraded conventional railways, newly built high-speed passenger designated lines (PDLs), and the world's first high-speed commercial magnetic levitation (maglev) line. The country has been undergoing an HSR building boom with generous funding from the Chinese government's economic stimulus program. The network is rapidly expanding and the total network length of above 200 km/h lines is expected to reach 18,000 km (11,000 mi) by the end of 2015, or 40,000 km (25,000 mi) total network length under another definition of high speed rail.

China's initial high speed trains were imported or built under technology transfer agreements with foreign train-makers including Siemens, Bombardier and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Chinese engineers then re-designed internal train components and built indigenous trains that can reach operational speeds of up to 380 km/h (240 mph).

The pace of China's high-speed rail expansion slowed sharply in 2011 after the removal of Chinese Railways Minister Liu Zhijun in February pending investigation for corruption and a fatal high-speed railway accident near Wenzhou in July. Concerns about HSR safety, high ticket prices, low ridership, financial sustainability of high speed rail projects and environmental impact have drawn greater scrutiny from the Chinese press.