Non-Stop Coverage of the High-Speed Rail
Seeing as it’s nearly impossible to open a newspaper or scroll through Google Reader without mention of China and high-speed trains, we've got a lot more updates for you since the last ones we posted two days ago.
The rumor of a train slowdown was confirmed later this week, but what was surprising is that it’s not limited to the fastest 300km/hr trains; the 250km/hr trains are also tapping the brakes. All affected trains will drop 50km/hr off their current speeds.
We’re not sure what this will do for that much-vaunted "five-hour Beijing-Shanghai journey" but the fastest train (originally 300km/hr, now 250km/hr) shouldn't slow down to the full eight hours of the original 250km/hr train. Confused? The eight-hour journey didn't just take into account the slower speed but also additional stops. This is what the time schedule looked like at the launch of the high-speed rail, but expect it to change drastically.
As schedules shift, advance ticket purchases have dropped from 15 days down to 4-6 days before departures. Certain ticket sales are even being suspended for high-speed travel from August 15; Shanghai is reporting that all D and G category trains will be temporarily grounded from both its stations. This includes all of the newest high-speed cars (G trains), as well as the now-second fastest cars (D trains), which also use the high-speed tracks. For more on the category distinctions, see this handy train travel blog. (If all trains leave the Beijing station at 300 km/hr and all trains leave the Shanghai station at 0km/hr, how long before Beijing is left without trains? Discuss.)
Once schedules and trains are back up and running, the Beijing-Shanghai line will run 66 trains rather than the current 88. The change in speed will also drop prices approximately 5 percent.
Meanwhile, 54 trains on the Beijing-Shanghai line have been recalled for “standard maintenance,” prompting some to wonder exactly how much maintenance is required after a month and a half of service.
And last but not least, all high-speed projects have been suspended temporarily as the Ministry decides how to proceed with their goal of developing the train system to 13,000 kilometres by 2012 and 16,000 kilometres by 2020.
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Jerry
Submitted by Guest on Mon, 08/22/2011 - 09:58 Permalink
Re: Non-Stop Coverage of the High-Speed Rail
More not-so-reassuring news:
Workers find cracked axle on bullet train
From Shanghai Daily (via China.org.cn):
A crack was found on the axle of a CRH380BL train, the type used on the Shanghai-Beijing high-speed line, just over two weeks after the service went into operation, it has been revealed.According to a flaw detection report obtained by the Caixin Century magazine, workers found the crack on a train axle on July 15 at a base in central China's Jinan City.
CRH380BL trains on the Shanghai-Beijing route, about a quarter of the trains used on the line, were recently recalled.
Changchun Railway Vehicles Co, a subsidiary of China's key train maker CNR, said 54 CRH380BL trains would be thoroughly checked to see whether they need to be overhauled.
CNR blamed frequent breakdowns of the CRH380BL on train sensors but did not mention any problems with axles.
The crack was about 7.1 millimeters long and 2.4mm wide, according to the detection report, and it was suggested the axle be replaced. Axle flaws were also found on other trains of same model, according to Caixin.
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