Workers check and maintain parts of bullet trains in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province during this Spring Festival travel rush which lasts from Feb. 1 to March 12 this year. More than 5,600 bullet train services will operate every day during the 40 days, accounting for 65 percent of the total railroad transportation capability.

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In his 2018 New Year Address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that “bullet trains now criss-cross China’s vast landscape.”

This year, Fuxing bullet trains will serve more than half of China’s provinces, regions and municipalities, connecting the routes between a massive number of places and such transportation hubs as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou. More than 5,600 bullet train services will operate every day during the travel rush, accounting for 65 percent of the total railroad transportation capability, and more than 60 percent of travelers are expected to take bullet trains, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

In this context, the China Railway Corporation will facilitate and brand standardized services of Fuxing bullet trains in terms of information broadcasts, promotional items and spare goods inventory on the trains.

Fuxing trains have attracted greater attention than the construction of high-speed railroads. It made its debut on the route between Beijing and Shanghai on June 26, 2017 and started to operate at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour in September 2017, once again becoming the world’s fastest bullet train after its speed was reduced to 300 kilometers per hour for safety concerns six years ago. Led by the China Railway Corporation, the new generation of bullet trains has been completely designed and manufactured in China. China holds the intellectual property rights on the fleet.

The launch of Fuxing trains marked China ascendancy to the world leader in railway technology and equipment sets, particularly high-speed bullet trains. “Fuxing trains have about 500 more test stations than the last generation bullet train called Hexie, or “Harmony.” They can record 1 million pieces of data per second,” said Tao Guidong, deputy director of the Center for Technology at CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co.

“It’s very comfortable to sit in Fuxing trains. I can charge my electric products and use the wireless network on the train. My ear pressure is acceptable when trains go through tunnels or pass by each other,” said Xu, a die-hard fan of trains who has taken bullet trains in Germany, Japan and other countries. “No riding experience is better than Fuxing trains,” he added.

The new generation is China’s first self-developed electric multiple units (EMU). “Breakthroughs in a number of crucial technologies like traction, braking and network control system have allowed China to design and manufacture bullet trains for countries across the world,” said Lu Yang, chief research fellow of China Academy of Railway Sciences.

Fuxing trains mirror the transformation of the Chinese railway industry and the arrival of a new era. The sector has adopted multiple technologies to serve its travelers, who can book tickets on the popular social media platform WeChat, check tickets with facial recognition at railway stations and order food online while travelling on the train.

Reforms have been carried out as well. For example, private companies are allowed to be the shareholders in high-speed bullet trains. Also, both domestic citizens and foreign people can register as members of the frequent traveler plan. Members can obtain credits after their trips that can be redeemed for train tickets.

In 2018, reform and innovation will drive domestic railway toward intelligentization. Automatic driving technology will for the first time be applied to the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railroad that has been built to serve the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. By that time, artificial intelligence will have replaced manpower to perform such tasks as train operation, scheduling and malfunction monitoring.

Smart technology plays a big role in this year’s Spring Festival travel rush. Guangzhou South Station, one of the four largest railway passenger transportation hubs in China, has almost 100 entrance and exit gates, making it difficult for travelers to find people, locate places and reserve a taxi in such a large and crowded place.

The station opened a subscription account on WeChat platform before the travel rush. After subscribing the account and opening Bluetooth on their phones, travelers can use the newest indoor positioning and navigating system equipped with multiple intelligent functions. Travelers who use various modes of transportation can conveniently find the places they want to go.

In Guangzhou South station, travelers can share their locations and spot their loved ones. The navigation system can automatically provide a path after users double-click the portraits of their friends or relatives. In addition, the system can guide travelers to nearby ticket offices, restaurants, subway entrances, parking lots and washrooms.

Similar smart applications will also be available in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and Changsha, Hunan Province, during this Spring Festival travel rush. For example, 32 facial recognition check-ins have been installed at Wuhan Railway Station, automating many tasks that were once done by workers. “It only needs travelers to scan their tickets, ID cards at the machine and aim their faces at the camera. Bullet train travelers can enter the station with only an ID card,” said the station director Zhang Zaiming.

Nicknamed the green-skin trains, short-distance stopping passenger trains remain the primary transportation choice for many residents in remote and outlying areas despite the increasing popularity of bullet trains. In light of China’s unbalanced growth, China Railway Corporation continues to operate the green-skin trains in the less-developed places for the convenience of people living there.

Yangjiao Village in Yunnan Province had a plentiful tomato harvest in January. These days, villagers there carried tomatoes on their shoulders with a pole to take the No. 6162 train and sell them in Yuanmou County 40 kilometers away from their nearest station. “The train is scheduled to stop here for two minutes, but we have to extend it to half an hour to ensure all the goods can get on board,” said Yang Xuejia, director of Yangjiuhe Station. Vegetable is the VIP “traveler” of this train, reaching up to a dozen tons each day.

With only seven coaches, the No. 6162 train departs from Kunming to Panzhihua every morning. It stops at more than 20 stations and most of its passengers are residents of Yi ethnic minority. The full fare of the train is 39.5 yuan and the ticket price between two stations can be as low as 4 yuan.
 

There are 81 services of trains like the No. 6162 dedicated to reducing poverty across China. More than 30 million trips are made each year thanks to their operation. During this Spring Festival travel rush, a number of trains have reserved tickets for people in outlying areas to ensure their trips. And China will continue to operate these trains for welfare purposes in 2018.

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Figures & facts about Chinese railway sector

 

By the end of 2017, the total length of railway tracks in China had reached 127,000 kilometers, including the world’s longest high-speed rail network that reached 25,000 kilometers and accounted for about 67 percent of the world’s total.

 

More than 29,400 kilometers of track were laid in China between 2013 and 2017, including 15,700 kilometers of high-speed railway network. More than 3,000 kilometers of railroads for bullet trains were constructed in 2017 alone, outnumbering the total length of Japan’s Shinkansen with a daily increase of about 8 kilometers.

 

In 2017, 3.4 billion trips were made by trains in China, and bullet trains transported as much as 1.7 billion passengers, accounting for 56.4 percent of the country’s total.

 

The total investment in railway infrastructure in the central and western regions (Northeast China included) hit 396.4 billion yuan, taking up 69.4 percent of the country’s total. And the percentage figure will outnumber 70 percent in 2018.

 

China will become a leading railway operator in the world by 2020 in terms of scale and quality of railway network and the capability to innovate. Also, its technology, equipment and transportation safety and management will take the lead by that time.

 

(edited by MA YUHONG)