CHINA | High Speed Rail

[George08]

High-speed rail to link Beijing and Shenzhen (2012-08-06)
The high-speed rail linking Beijing and Shenzhen in Guangdong province is expected to enter service by the end of this year. By then, the 2,372-kilometer journey will take only eight hours rather than the current 24 to 29 hours by train, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Monday.

The line will start at Shenzhen, end at Beijing and make stops at Guangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang, the report said. The Shenzhen-Wuhan section has been operating since April 1.

The section between Zhengzhou and Wuhan will be finished by September.

[hmmwv]

Originally Posted by chornedsnorkack

By the end of 6th Speedup Campaign in April 2007, 6004 km of railways previously built for 160 km/h or less had been sped up to 200 km/h or more.

Have any previously 160 km/h or slower railways been sped up to 200 km/h or faster since April 2007?

Shall any railways which never have been faster than 160 km/h be sped up to 200 km/h or faster between now and end of 2015?

There are several intercity railways were upgraded to 200km/h since 2007, the one I can remember from the top of my head is Chengdu-Chongqing on Sept 28, 2009. Of which Chengdu-Suining became 200km/h and Suining-Chongqing upgraded to 160km/h. I don't think they will be upgrading too many regular railways to 200km/h, they might as well just introduce CRH6 services on them and focus on improving efficiency.

[hkskyline]

Railway station questioned for poor management, high prices
2012-August-9 08:53
Shenzhen Daily

SHENZHEN North Railway Station has been criticized by taxi drivers and train passengers for poor management that results in rampant illegal taxi services and overly expensive food in the station’s shops.

“It takes only 35 minutes (by train) to get from Guangzhou to North Railway Station but it takes about an hour to wait for a taxi,” said a resident surnamed Zhou who often commutes between Shenzhen and Guangzhou. “You have to go up and down the stairs and queue for more than 30 minutes for a cab. It is really frustrating.”

Cab drivers don’t like to go to North Railway Station because of its proximity to the city center (meaning smaller fares), limited passenger turnover and rampant illegal taxis. In addition, Metro trains carry most of the station’s passengers during the day time.

A man surnamed Lin complained on his blog that when he arrived at North Railway Station on the night of July 29, the Longhua Line Metro service had ended but there was not a single taxi in the taxi area.

“At such a big station, to have no bus, no Metro and no taxi was an unbelievable experience,” said Lin, who has traveled to more than 30 world cities.

Many passengers are forced to share taxis if they don’t want to wait for long periods.

But taxi drivers don’t like the station because they often have to wait for passengers for a long time.

“It is a waste of time for us to wait here. If we wait an hour here, we could be earning 60 yuan (US$9.47) to 70 yuan in other places,” said a Shenzhen Taxi Service Co. driver surnamed Wang.

Illegal taxi services also make cab drivers reluctant to go to North Railway Station. Drivers have said there are 50 to 60 private cars that regularly offer illegal services there.

Convenience stores inside the station also receive complaints, for frequently charging double or triple the regular market prices.

[George08]

Probably the future subway Guangming Line will solve that problem.

Funny, but also the Korean high speed rail (KTX)
had a speed reduction from 350 km/h (designed) to 300 km/h.

As often happens, the development history of infrastructures
is very similar all over the world.

http://info.korail.com/2007/eng/ein/...w_ein01100.jsp

[gnatho]

Guys, need your help. For the past few hours I've been playing with Inkscape. My goal is to create a map of HSR network in China with opening dates of new lines. I know that there are already tens of different kinds of railway maps, but so far I havent found the one I have on my mind. My current project is purely in SVG what makes it perfect for any updates.

I was wondering if anyone would like to share some work with me (basically drawing the network and putting the opening dates on). Later on we could upload it to Google Project or some other site to coordinate our efforts.

Here's what I've managed to do so far.

MAP

[chornedsnorkack]

Originally Posted by George08

Probably the future subway Guangming Line will solve that problem.

Which one? Opening hour mismatch?

Who says what Guangming Line opening hours shall be?

The logical solution would be to extend Longhua Line opening hours, even at lower frequencies, to match the train schedules.

In which year is Futian Station due to open for traffic?

[hmmwv]

Originally Posted by gnatho

Guys, need your help. For the past few hours I've been playing with Inkscape. My goal is to create a map of HSR network in China with opening dates of new lines. I know that there are already tens of different kinds of railway maps, but so far I havent found the one I have on my mind. My current project is purely in SVG what makes it perfect for any updates.

I was wondering if anyone would like to share some work with me (basically drawing the network and putting the opening dates on). Later on we could upload it to Google Project or some other site to coordinate our efforts.

Here's what I've managed to do so far.

MAP

Thanks for the effort, if you need line specific info (opening date, length, speed, etc) you can post the request here and I'll do my best to answer.

[chornedsnorkack]

Is it confirmed that Nanjing-Hangzhou is delayed into 2013?

[gnatho]

Originally Posted by chornedsnorkack

Is it confirmed that Nanjing-Hangzhou is delayed into 2013?

From what I've read on gaotie.cn, it should be open "before" the 2013 Spring Festival

[FM 2258]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Railway station questioned for poor management, high prices
2012-August-9 08:53
Shenzhen Daily

SHENZHEN North Railway Station has been criticized by taxi drivers and train passengers for poor management that results in rampant illegal taxi services and overly expensive food in the station’s shops.

“It takes only 35 minutes (by train) to get from Guangzhou to North Railway Station but it takes about an hour to wait for a taxi,” said a resident surnamed Zhou who often commutes between Shenzhen and Guangzhou. “You have to go up and down the stairs and queue for more than 30 minutes for a cab. It is really frustrating.”

Cab drivers don’t like to go to North Railway Station because of its proximity to the city center (meaning smaller fares), limited passenger turnover and rampant illegal taxis. In addition, Metro trains carry most of the station’s passengers during the day time.

A man surnamed Lin complained on his blog that when he arrived at North Railway Station on the night of July 29, the Longhua Line Metro service had ended but there was not a single taxi in the taxi area.

“At such a big station, to have no bus, no Metro and no taxi was an unbelievable experience,” said Lin, who has traveled to more than 30 world cities.

Many passengers are forced to share taxis if they don’t want to wait for long periods.

But taxi drivers don’t like the station because they often have to wait for passengers for a long time.

“It is a waste of time for us to wait here. If we wait an hour here, we could be earning 60 yuan (US$9.47) to 70 yuan in other places,” said a Shenzhen Taxi Service Co. driver surnamed Wang.

Illegal taxi services also make cab drivers reluctant to go to North Railway Station. Drivers have said there are 50 to 60 private cars that regularly offer illegal services there.

Convenience stores inside the station also receive complaints, for frequently charging double or triple the regular market prices.

Hopefully in time they will get the kinks sorted out. Also I feel that once Futian station opens up Shenzhen North might get a reduction in passenger traffic. Maybe not. By the way, where is Shenzhen North Station? According to Google Maps it's located near Luohu but doesn't Shenzhen North share space with Longhua station? I'm confused as to where Shenzhen north station really is.

[hkskyline]

Yes - there are 2. The Luohu one is the old station but I believe is still in use today. The new HSR one is near Futian where you circled in red.

[FM 2258]

So Google Maps is incorrect? Futian is located where it says Shenzhen Convention & Exhibit center. From what I remember the Shenzhen Railway station is in Luohu near the border. Google maps for China seems messed up sometimes.

[George08]

BEIJING, August 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The Ministry of Railways has found quality defects on 12 rail lines that may endanger railroad safety, according to a document recently obtained by the media.
Seven of the 12 lines have been put into service, including high-speed passenger railways between Wuhan and Guangzhou and between Zhengzhou and Xi'an, according to the document.
The problems were discovered during routine inspections. The construction defects on the seven lines included cracks and leaks on tunnel arches, tilted communications towers and poorly arranged electronic cables, the Chinese news portal eeo.com.cn reported on Tuesday.
Other problems were found on five lines currently under construction, including one linking Lhasa and Xigaze in the Tibet autonomous region, which is an extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
The ministry severely criticized some contractors for building with low-quality materials and not using enough iron bars in reinforced concrete.
Media reports quoted anonymous experts as saying the defects might threaten railway safety.
Cracks on the railway tunnel's arch could cause concrete chunks to break off when a high-speed train passes, destroying the train's power supply equipment, they said.
A ministry official who spoke to China Daily on the condition of anonymity confirmed the authenticity of the document, saying it was meant to be circulated inside the ministry and to relevant parties.
He said the ministry is paying great attention to quality issues, and has organized regular inspections on railway construction and operations.
"It is just another regular checkup to guarantee railway safety," he said.
According to the document, the ministry has already taken measures to punish those responsible for the quality defects.
It suspended several construction and construction supervision companies from tendering and bidding on railway projects for a month, and required them to rectify the problems as soon as possible.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ch..._131771871.htm

[George08]

Originally Posted by gnatho

Guys, need your help. For the past few hours I've been playing with Inkscape. My goal is to create a map of HSR network in China with opening dates of new lines. I know that there are already tens of different kinds of railway maps, but so far I havent found the one I have on my mind. My current project is purely in SVG what makes it perfect for any updates.

I was wondering if anyone would like to share some work with me (basically drawing the network and putting the opening dates on). Later on we could upload it to Google Project or some other site to coordinate our efforts.

Here's what I've managed to do so far.

MAP

great map!



@Hmmwv

Have you got some (updated) news about the possible official opening of these following HSR lines:

1) Harbin - Dalian HSR;
2) Beijing - Wuhan HSR;
3) Lichuan - Chongqing HSR;
4) Nanjing - Hangzhou HSR;
5) Hangzhou - Ningbo HSR.

Thanks

[big-dog]

Longyan-Xiamen rail (140km)， Fujian Province



from @中国铁路

[bearb]

Originally Posted by FM 2258

Hopefully in time they will get the kinks sorted out. Also I feel that once Futian station opens up Shenzhen North might get a reduction in passenger traffic. Maybe not. By the way, where is Shenzhen North Station? According to Google Maps it's located near Luohu but doesn't Shenzhen North share space with Longhua station? I'm confused as to where Shenzhen north station really is.

the current Shenzhen North Station should be here.....


the one shown up on your map was the old Shenzhen North Station and changed its name to Sungang Station couple years ago for the new one...

for short distance traveller: yes there will be less going from shenzhen north
but almost all long distance trains goes to/from shenzhen will stop at shenzhen north. futian is more liked a station for inter city trains

[bearb]

Originally Posted by FM 2258

So Google Maps is incorrect? Futian is located where it says Shenzhen Convention & Exhibit center. From what I remember the Shenzhen Railway station is in Luohu near the border. Google maps for China seems messed up sometimes.

this is the metro Futian station
and the CRH Futian Station goes from here and then crosses some roads to metro Shopping Park Station where its south end ends at..

and i kinda found a plan of futian railway station and tried my best to translate the chinese on it

[FM 2258]

Thanks for clearing up my confusion bearb. For the longest time I had no idea exactly where this station was. Good to know now. It looks like Google maps has it half right. When you hover over the metro station it tells you it's Shenzhen North:

[phoenixboi08]

Originally Posted by gnatho

Here's what I've managed to do so far.

MAP

What's the city between Kunming and Changhsha?

[bearb]

Originally Posted by phoenixboi08

What's the city between Kunming and Changhsha?

should be Guiyang, capital of Guizhou