CHINA | Railways

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Bombardier gets $382M train order from Chinese railway
Bloomberg News
27 August 2005

Bombardier Inc., the world's biggest maker of railway equipment, won a 2.58-billion yuan ($382-million) contract for electric trains from Guangshen Railway Co., a railway operator in southern China. Guangshen Railway's board approved an agreement to buy 20 trains from Bombardier and a Chinese venture, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement yesterday. The trains will be delivered by the end of 2007, it said. Guangshen Railway said it will use the trains for services between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and also to Hong Kong. The company's shares rose as much as 1% to in Hong Kong. The stock has fallen 20% this year. Shares in Montreal-based Bombardier were unchanged at $3.10 yesterday in Toronto.

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Tibet Railway Nears Finish
By Hu Xiao
31 August 2005
China Daily

LHASA: After four years of construction, much of it in extremely rugged terrain, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Project will be ready for testing in less than a year.

Workmen are currently completing Lhasa Railway Station, the biggest transport station on the line.

"The whole project is going very well now. The railway will be paved up to Lhasa by the end of the year. We're sure that the whole railway will be ready for trials by next July 1," said Sun Fuqing, vice-minister of railways here yesterday.

Accompanied by the sound of drills and sledgehammers, members of the central government delegation to Tibet to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region visited the under-construction station and greeted the workmen yesterday.

Jia Qinglin, head of the delegation, spoke highly of the railway: "The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a landmark project that is part of the government's drive to develop the country's western regions. It will benefit the development of Tibet's communications and tourism, and promote economic and cultural exchanges between Tibet and other parts of China."

Work on the project began on June 29, 2001. The railroad starts from Golmud in Qinghai Province, and stretches a distance of 1,142 kilometres to Lhasa in the south. About 960 kilometres of the track are over 4,000 metres above sea level, with the highest point 5,072 metres. In addition, 550 kilometres of the line are laid on frozen earth, according to Sun.

"When completed, it will be the highest and longest highland railroad in the world," Sun said.

Tenzin, a worker on the Tibet Railway Station project, said: "All of us hope that the whole line can be completed at an early date. It will only take 48 hours to travel from Lhasa to Beijing."

On the construction site, only one narrow route is available for workmen and vehicles to pass through. Tenzin said it is to protect the ecosystem along the railway.

Wetlands and the vast expanse of frozen earth are also carefully protected along the railway, according to Vice-Minister Sun.

On Monday, 200 bar-headed geese were released into the wild at the highest swamp in the world Lhalu Wetland Nature Reserve after being raised by humans for 18 months. "It is the first time in China that artificially-bred bar-headed geese have been released into the wild," said Ding Feng, a researcher with the Nida Research Base of Wild Animal Breeding in Lhasa.

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Nanjing courts MTR investment
City eyes property model of HK operator as it chases funds for 10.5b yuan project
Mark O'Neill in Nanjing
8 September 2005
South China Morning Post

Nanjing needed six billion yuan in outside capital to finance a second railway and wanted investment from MTR Corp, the city's vice-mayor said yesterday.

Nanjing's first railway, of 21.7km, opened on Saturday, making it the sixth mainland city with a metro, after Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

"We have applied for permission from Beijing for a second line and will receive it," vice-mayor Chen Jiabao said at a BNP Paribas Peregrine seminar.

"This will need 10.5 billion yuan in capital, of which the government will invest 40 per cent and the rest will come from banks and the public. We welcome investment by Hong Kong's MTR."

MTR has invested in the metros of Beijing and Shenzhen but may baulk at the less appealing prospects on offer in Nanjing.

"We have sent people to study [the MTR] and receive training. Of course, our network is too small now to make money. On the second line, we will use the Hong Kong model and develop property along the line," Mr Chen said.

The China market offers to MTR investment prospects unmatched in the world.

At the opening of the Nanjing line, Vice-Minister of Construction Chou Baoxing said that over the next five years, mainland cities would invest 500 billion yuan in 1,500km of railways and light rail systems.

"We have 43 cities with over one million people and 14 cities with over two million. By 2010, 45 per cent of the population will live in urban areas. Railways are vital," Mr Chou said.

He praised the construction of the line in Nanjing as the cheapest in China so far, at 400 million yuan per kilometre. Total construction cost 8.5 billion yuan.

According to its website, the Nanjing Metro plans to build 10 railway and four light rail lines by 2050, with 433km of track. It first drew up a railway plan in 1984 but did not start construction until December 2000 because it could not obtain permission from Beijing.

The government is nervous about approving rail lines because of the enormous costs and the possible inflationary effects. In October 2002, it banned approvals of new lines, which it relaxed only in June this year. It has since cleared the plans of four cities - Hangzhou, Shenyang, Harbin and Chengdu.

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Beijing subways to haul 15 million travels during National Day holidays
26 September 2005
Xinhua's China Economic Information Service

BEIJING, September 26 (CEIS) -- The subway network of this national capital will haul approximately 15.05 million travels during the upcoming National Day holiday that will begin from Oct.1.

An official with the Beijing Municipal Subway Operation Corporation sets the daily passenger transport volume via the subway network during the seven-day holiday period at 2.15 million journeys, and the travel peak might occur on Oct.1, with 2.6 million travels.

To ensure a normal operation of the subway system, the Beijing Municipal Subway Operation Corporation have got all trains currently used for transportation checked thoroughly and have had 14 other trains in reserve, said the official.

In the meantime, the corporation is also expected to prolong the current service time on all the four subway lines by 35 minutes to 80 minutes to cope with the rising need of passengers for travels during the national holiday season.

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China builds 200-kph railway in southeast province
4 October 2005

Fuzhou, October 4 (Xinhua) -- China has started building a 200 kilometer-per-hour railway from Fuzhou, capital city of southeast China's Fujian Province, to Xiamen, a coastal city in the province.

The line, with a length of 273 kilometers and a total investment of 14.42 billion yuan, will be completed in 2009.

Since the railway will be constructed in high land, about 40 percent of the railway will be on bridges and in tunnels.

The Fuzhou-Xiamen line is part of China's coastal network of express railways.

The original railways in the province, with speeds of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, are antiquated, a local official said.

The Fuzhou-Xiamen line will connect the original ones and form a network within the province, he said.

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Construction on 200-kph railway in Fujian begins
10 October 2005
China Daily

China has started building a 200 kilometer-per-hour railway from Fuzhou, capital city of East China's Fujian Province, to Xiamen, a coastal city in the province.

The line, with a length of 273 kilometers and a total investment of 14.42 billion yuan (US$1.78 billion), will be completed in 2009.

Since the railway will be constructed in high land, about 40 percent of the railway will be on bridges and in tunnels.

The Fuzhou-Xiamen line is part of China's coastal network of express railways.

The original railways in the province, with speeds of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, are antiquated, a local official said.

The Fuzhou-Xiamen line will connect the original ones and form a network within the province, he said.

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China approves first Sino-foreign urban subway project
14 October 2005
China Daily

The National Development and Reform Commission has approved a Sino-foreign franchised project on the No 4 subway line in Beijing, Beijing Daily reported.

This is the first of its kind approved by the commission. Construction on the 28.65-km No 4 subway line, which runs through Fengtai, Xuanwu, Xicheng and Haidian districts of Beijing,started last November and is expected to be completed in 2009. The investment is estimated at 15.3 billion yuan (US$1.90 billion).

The Sino-foreign joint venture, Beijing Jinggang Subway Co Ltd, will be responsible for the financing, construction and operation of the subway line. The term of the franchised project will be 30 years after the subway's trial operation.

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Rail link brings rest of world to Tibet
17 October 2005
China Daily

The first fully-loaded train to cover the entire Qinghai-Tibet Railway route arrived in Lhasa, the Tibet Autonomous Region, on October 15.

The historic journey added a perfect finishing touch to what President Hu Jintao described, in his congratulatory message at the celebration ceremony, as an "unparalleled feat" on the "roof of the world."

Like our second manned space flight, which is arousing both pride and envy at home and abroad, the 24-billion-yuan (US$2.96 billion) project is the fruit of our growing comprehensive national strength.

Tibet's need for and dream of a rail link with the rest of the country did not start until in 2001, when construction began.

The region had for decades remained the only province-level administrative area in China without a railway, because we had neither the money nor the technology.

We should first pay tribute to the railway workers that contributed either their ideas or physical strength to making the decades-old wish come true.

Our scientists demonstrated impressive competence in the uncharted waters of railway construction at extremely high altitudes.

A total of 960 kilometres of the 1,142-kilometre Golmud-Lhasa section of the railway are at least 4,000 metres above sea level. The track reaches 5,072 metres at Tanggula Pass.

At such altitudes, frozen soil, the fragile ecology and oxygen deficiency were believed to be insuperable natural barriers to railway building. Among voices of dissent, there was the claim that a railway like this would result in irreparable damage to the environment.

In total, 550 kilometres of the tracks were laid on frozen soil. Vegetation was meticulously preserved. Pollution was kept to a minimum. In order not to disrupt the seasonable migration routes of animals, including the famous Tibetan antelope, planners added to their blueprints a network of culverts.

At such altitudes, often considered unsuitable for human habitation, railway building is not only a challenge to human wisdom, but first of all a test of physiological endurance.

For that alone, the railway should forever be appreciated with respect and gratitude for its builders.

Each sleeper and section of track they laid took a huge effort, quite aside from the construction of the numerous bridges and tunnels that dot the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

They have made history not just in China but the whole world.

The railway, which they sweated for four years to build, is set to make history in the country's strategic attempt to balance regional development.

The rail link does more than incorporate the Tibet Autonomous Region and part of Qinghai Province in the national railway network. It will prove a significant boost to economic progress on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The lack of a rail link with the rest of the country had long been a major obstacle to the area's economic ambitions. The railway will considerably reduce transport costs and accelerate the flow of commodities when it begins trial operations in July 2006.

Unlike traditional track-rolling missions, the first train was not loaded to full capacity with sand or rocks, but arrived at Lhasa on Saturday carrying aid.

Major State firms have donated 12,300 tons of various materials, including chemical fertilizers, wheat flour and steel products, in an enthusiastic response to the Ministry of Railways' idea to turn the track-rolling trips into aid missions.

Tibet has been receiving assistance from both the central government and fraternal provinces.

With the newly acquired rail link, the people of Tibet can expect even more benefits from afar.

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China Announces Completion Of Work On Tibet Railway
15 October 2005

BEIJING (AP)--China Saturday announced the official completion of the first railway to Tibet, a controversial engineering feat that is one of the world's highest train lines, crossing mountain passes up to 5,000 meters high.

The railway is part of efforts to develop the poor west and bind Tibet more closely to China's interior. The government says it will start carrying passengers next year and should spur trade and investment, easing poverty in Tibet.

Activists complain the line will bring a flood of ethnic Chinese migrants to the isolated Himalayan region, diluting its unique Buddhist culture. Environmentalists say it will damage Tibet's fragile ecology and lead to the exploitation of its resources.

Completion of construction was marked with a ceremony Saturday morning in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Tibet's regional capital basked in glory," Xinhua said.

Critics say most of the economic benefits of Tibet's economic development will go to immigrants from China's east.

But activists and foreign diplomats also say the communist Beijing government is the only entity willing to invest the billions of dollars needed to ease poverty in the region.

Chinese officials insist that they are making efforts to employ Tibetans on the railway and are taking precautions to protect the region's fragile ecology.

About 80% of the 1,956-kilometer line linking Lhasa to the city of Xining in the western province of Qinghai lies above 4,000 meters, according to the government.

The train will have special cars that are sealed like aircraft to protect passengers from altitude sickness. Crews building the line worked at such high altitudes that they breathed bottled oxygen.

Until now, goods going to and from Tibet have been trucked over mountain highways often blocked by landslides or snow, making trade prohibitively expensive.

Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and Beijing says the region has been Chinese territory for centuries. But many Tibetans say they were independent for much of that time.

Beijing has planned the railway since the 1950s. But construction was blocked by the cost and technical obstacles.

The track crosses hundreds of kilometers of permafrost, and sits on special rollers and pontoons designed to keep it in place as the ground melts and refreezes.

Its highest station will be in Nagqu, a town at an altitude of 4,500 meters in the rolling grasslands of the Tibetan plateau.

According to Xinhua, the highest point on the line is 5,072 meters, which the government says is a world record.

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Germany's Siemens to Provide 72 Cars for Shanghai Subway

SHANGHAI, Oct 21 Asia Pulse - Siemens has been contracted to deliver 72 new cars for the Shanghai Subway Co. by 2007.

Siemens signed the deal in association with its Chinese partner Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Plant. The deal also includes the renovation of the former 24 subway cars it made for Shanghai Subway, which would add the number of carriages from six to eight for each car.

The new subway cars' carrying capacity will reach 2,480 passengers each from the present 1,860 passengers a car each.

Siemens is not only a provider for Shanghai's subway cars, but also the metropolitan's subway signal, power supply and telecommunications systems. It signed a contract to provide Shanghai's No. 2 Subway Line with 168 subway cars in 2002.

(XIC)

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Shenyang to Build 6 Subway Lines in Next 10 Years
21 October 2005
SinoCast China Business Daily News

cSHENYANG, October 21, SinoCast -- Chen Zhenggao, mayor of Shenyang City of northeastern China's Liaoning Province, said that the city planned to complete construction of six subway lines in the next ten years or more time.

Mr. Shen told journalists that preparation works for the first phase project of the Subway No.1 Line would be completed by the end of this October and the Phase I project of the Subway No.2 Line would be launched in 2006.

Then Shenyang will successively start construction of the rest four lines. The mayor explained that it would not be convenient for people if there were only one or two subway lines.

Rapid economic development in Shenyang will support subway construction there. In the first nine months of this year, GDP of the whole city reached CNY 158.6 billion with a year-on-year growth of 15.7%, fiscal revenues topped CNY 12.32 billion with a year-on-year growth of 28.4%.

The city aims to control subway construction cost within CNY 430 million per kilometer.

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Translating from Hong Kong Railway Discussion Board,

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Coporation (GSRC) is starting to replace the paper tickets into IC Cards (Intellgent Cards) today. The IC Cards have both Single-Ride and Multi-Ride Cards.

Four Phases for transforming into IC Card,
First Phase: Only the last departure;
Second Phase: 3 north bound and 3 south bound departures at night;
Third Phase: Extend to most departures at night;
Last Phase (At around Nov 27): All high-speed trains between GZ and SZ use IC Cards.

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MTR to seek US$370.85m loan to help fund Beijing rail link
18 October 2005
China Daily

Hong Kong-listed MTR Corp Ltd will seek a three billion yuan (US$370.85 million) loan with State-owned partner Beijing Capital Group after winning approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to build and operate a rail link running across the center of Beijing.

Richard Wong, MTR's general manager said 735 million yuan of the total investment will come from internal funds and the remaining 3.03 billion yuan will come from project financing.

MTR and Beijing Capital will each hold 49 percent in the venture developing the project, with municipal government-owned Beijing Infrastructure holding 2 percent.

The Beijing municipal government will pay for 70 percent, or about 10.7 billion yuan, of the project's total cost of 15.3 billion yuan.

The remainder, about 4.6 billion yuan, will be borne by the joint venture, of which 66 percent will come from bank loans and the rest from shareholders, Wong said.

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Shenzhen RMB50 billion to improve subway and public transport
26 October 2005

Shenzhen City Deputy-mayor Zhang Si-ping reveals that the Shenzhen city government is planning to invest RMB50 billion to further improve transport networks in the city. These transport networks include subway and bus transport.

Among all public transport network, about RMB37 billion will be invested in subways which include Metro No. 4 Phase II, currently under construction by Mass Transit Railway Corp. (MTRC). The subway is scheduled to complete by 2010. The RMB37 billion of work is estimated to give Shenzhen 150km of subway by 2010. The Metro No. 4 Phase II requires an investment of RMB6 billion. It is expected to start operation in 2008. It connects to Kowloon Canton Railway Corp. (KCRC) and Lok Ma Chau railway line in Hong Kong.

Shenzhen Bus Group, a joint venture of Kowloon Motor Bus and the Shenzhen City Public Transport Group, is required to meet the following standard by 2007:

1) reducing customer complaints by 50%.

2) increasing network coverage to 98%

3) adding 20 new bus routes.

4) improving bus outlook.

5) bringing in 200 big buses.

6) using electronic bus route map and display.

7) reducing bus accidents and inappropriate incidents.

All these are set and done with a purpose of raising public transport management and service quality. Shenzhen city government has invested RMB1.1 billion into the joint venture. KMB, on the other hand, invests RMB500 million to take a 35% equity stake.

Wen Wei Po

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China plans to list part of rail network - FT

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - China wants to list part of its rail network on domestic or overseas stock markets within the next two years, a government official said in comments published on Tuesday.

Speaking to Britain's Financial Times, Huang Min, chief economist at China's railway ministry, said foreign investors will be able to take minority stakes in national lines and majority or full ownership of local railways.

"I hope overseas companies will think this is an opportunity and will invest and take a direct role in operations," he told the newspaper in a report on its Web site (http://www.ft.com).

"We will encourage the entities with the best market efficiency to list, including on overseas markets. This will happen next year or the year after."

The initial public offerings would help fund proposed railway investment worth $248 billion up to 2020, the report said.

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GE wins deal to supply 300 train locomotives to China

WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (AFP) - US conglomerate General Electric Co. said Tuesday it had won a big contract to supply 300 train locomotives to China to help in the booming country's bid to modernise its vast rail network.

GE said it had signed the contract worth more than 450 million dollars with the Chinese Railways Ministry to supply the 6,000-horsepower locomotives in cooperation with the Qishuyan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works.

"We are excited and pleased to advance our presence in the rail industry in China," said John Dineen, chief executive of GE Infrastructure's rail business, in a statement.

The deal "will open new lines of revenue, give us a larger installed base outside of North America and enable GE to better compete to replace China's current fleet of 6,500 mainline locomotives over the next 15 years", he said.

Delivery of the locomotives is planned to start in 2007 and end in 2009.

The Railways Ministry Tuesday outlined plans to list parts of China's vast but creaking rail network on global stock markets to raise some of the 250 billion dollars it needs over the next 15 years for renovation and expansion.

Although investment has poured into China's roads and airports, its laggard railway system has not kept pace, causing holdups at the country's ports and lengthy delays in the delivery of commodities.

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Phase 2 Project of Shenzhen Metro Line 4 Starts Construction

SHENZHEN, November 08, SinoCast -- The second phase project of 16-kilometer Shenzhen Metro Line 4, developed by MTR Corporation Limited, has started construction, which will link the city center and "Longhua central district".

After it is operational, Hong Kong people will be able to get to Longhua by subway, and then go to Shenzhen airport, or they even can directly arrive in Shanghai by train from Shenzhen, said an official from Shenzhen Planning Bureau.

Shenzhen will set up its new railway station in Longhua Town, which is the crossing point of Beijing-Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Hangzhou-Fuzhou-Shenzhen railway lines. The six trunk roads under construction or will be constructed will connect Longhua too.

Insiders from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said express railways between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province is forming, and midway stop will be located in Longhua District, which will drive more Hong Kong people to buy properties there.

It is estimated that population in Longhua will swell to 830,000 from current 430,000 in ten years.

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14 Chinese Cities Plan 1,500 Km of Urban Railway Lines
10 November 2005

Fourteen Chinese cities have so far presented plans for developing urban railway networks comprising a total 55 lines with a combined length of 1,500 km and total investments standing at 500 bln Chinese yuan ($61.8 bln/52.6 bln euro), the China Communications and Transportation Association said.

Nine Chinese cities had urban railway lines with a total length of over 400 km as of February 2005, including 293 km of underground lines. The nine cities were Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Changchun, Dalian, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Nanjing.

There are over 40 Chinese cities with a population of over one million. More than 30 of these cities have started building urban railway lines or are carrying out preliminary construction works.

Chinese cities have invested 200 bln yuan ($24.7 bln/21 bln euro) in urban railway projects in the period 2001 to 2005. By 2010, cities in China will have urban railway networks with a total length of over 1,000 km.

http://www.sinoprojects.net

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MTR expected to get Beijing No.10 Subway Line
11 November 2005

MTR Corporation (MTR) is expected to reach an agreement with Beijing City Government to build the Beijing No.10 Subway Line. This is MTR's another major project in China after it has secured a subway and property development project to build the Shenzhen No.4 Metro Line.

The Beijing No.10 Subway Line has a total length of 32.9km and 28 stations. The construction will be divided into two phases. The first phase of construction, involving 24.585km of subway length, will have 22 subway stations. The second phase of construction connects the No.10 Subway Line with the No.5 Subway Line at Songjiazhuang station. Another part of the No.10 Subway Line in the second phase is a westward extension from Xitou Wanliu Station to Nanding Station.

Although details of the Beijing No.10 Subway Line is not revealed, it is believed that the No.10 Subway Line will not have property development rights attached.

Hong Kong Commercial Daily News

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Shinkansen on track for China network
Kazumasa Higashi
Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
22 November 2005

China will buy Shinkansen Hayate trains made and marketed by a consortium of six Japanese companies for a 12,000-kilometer high-speed railway network expected to cost more than 10 trillion yen, it was learned Monday.

Germany's Siemens AG's InterCity Express (ICE) trains also will be used in the project. The Chinese Railway Ministry has decided to purchase 60 ICE trains, each with eight cars, and plans to reach a contract with the Japanese consortium for 60 Hayate trains soon, sources said. Trains will travel at up to 300 kph on the network.

The six firms are Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp. and Marubeni Corp.

Although Japan, France and Germany competed to have trains used exclusively in the network, the Shinkansen and ICE models will almost certainly both be used, the sources said. A French high-speed model called the TGV train was not adopted.

The Shinkansen train will make its maiden run on the railway system in China in 2008 at the earliest.

Construction of the high-speed railway network includes a project to connect Beijing with Shanghai. The Japanese government has urged China to adopt the Shinkansen model for this section, but it is unclear if the Shinkansen train will run between Beijing and Shanghai.

The ministry sounded out the Japanese firms and Siemens for the purchase in October, the sources said. The ministry likely will urge Japan, Germany and other nations to supply other project components, such as railway signals, for individual lines.