The new CRH380 series of high-speed trains will be a gift to China's already booming economy.
The world is poised for another railroad revolution, and China intends to lead the way. On July 1st China’s new CRH380 high-speed train began commercial service as it pushed off for the first time from its Beijing station. Ebullient passengers entered the modern, first-classish cabins and settled in for the train’s maiden voyage to Shanghai.
At nearly 200 mph.
The train is the fastest way to travel on land in China. But as impressive as 200 mph is, it’s a brake on the original plans. The CRH in the train’s name stands for China Rail High. The 380 denotes what the train’s top speed is supposed to be: 380 kilometers per hour (236 mph). However, a debate ensued in the days leading up to the July 1 launch that involved safety, engineering, and economics–and a highly-publicized criticism from a former top railway ministry engineer.
Had the train traveled at 380 km/h it would have been the fasted train in the world by far. As it stands, its 300 km/h operating speed only matches the pace of Japan’s shinkansen fleet of bullet trains as the world’s fastest. Despite its supposed top speed of 380 km/h, engineers and officials were trying to decide on an operation speed of 300 km/h or 350 km/h. The 300 km/h already halves the time it normally takes to travel from Beijing to Shanghai from ten hours to five, but Chinese nationalists wanted all the glory. The train serves to not only give China’s economy a boost, but its international image as well.
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