Althoughalatecomer,Chinaquicklymovedtotheforefrontofhigh-speedrailwaytechnologywithinthespaceofnineyears.
ITusedtobethecasethatinordertobuyaBoeingaircraftChinaneededtosell800millionshirtsandblouses.Nowthingshavechanged.Thecountry’smanufacturingindustryisbecomingincreasinglyhigh-tech.AkeyexampleisChina’scutting-edgehigh-speedrailwaytechnologies.Reliableandcost-effective,theyareaglowingachivementonthecountry’shighendmanufacturingresume.
Althoughalatecomer,Chinaquicklymovedtotheforefrontofhigh-speedrailwaytechnologywithinthespaceofnineyears.Youmaywonderwhatthesecretwastoitsquicksuccessandwhatresultedfromtheradiation-effectitcreated.
SuccessfromInnovation
OntheChinesemainland,ahigh-speedrailnetworkstretchesacrossthecountry.Linestrackacrossplains,rivers,deserts,plateausofpermafrostortropicalforests–andplentymorearestilltocome.Formosttravelers,high-speedrailwayisnolongerathingofthefuture;instead,ithasbecomeanecessity.
In2007,Chinalauncheditsfirstselfmademultipleunit(MU)trainwithaspeedof300kmperhour.In2010,theBeijing-Shanghaihigh-speedrailwaymanagedtoreach486.1kmperhour,andin2016,two“China-standard”EMU(electricmultipleunit)trains,theGoldenPhoenixandDolphinBlue,ranpasteachotherataspeedexceeding420kmperhour,whichmeanspassengersoneachtrainweretravellingat117meterspersecond…ThesearethehighlightsofChina’shigh-speedrailwayhistorysofar.ThegroundbreakingceremonyoftheJakartaBandung(JB)lineinIndonesiaisheldonJanuary21,2016inwestJava.Visitorsposeforagroupphotowiththemodelofahigh-speedtrain.“Innovationisthekeytoourtechnologicalbreakthroughs,”saidShangJing,vicepresidentandchiefengineerofZhuzhouCRRCTimesElectricCo.,Ltd.Atpresent,China’shigh-speedrailwaytechnologyisamongthemostadvancedintheworld.
“China-standard”EMUtrains,thelatestgenerationofhigh-speedtrains,signifythatChinahasgraspedthecoretechnologyinthisfield.ShangJingexplained,“‘China-standard’EMUtrainsweredevelopedindependentlybyourcountry.Itscoresystemis100percentdevelopedbyChina.”
“Inordertoreducenoise,wehavesetupaspecialinvestigativeresearchteam.Duringthedaywhenthetrainsareoperational,ourtechniciansanalyzethedata,andatnightwhenthetrainsareoffthetracks,theyverifyit.Wehaveimprovedthesoftwareonthetrainsover100times.”
Throughtrialanderror,thenoiseproducedwhenthetrainstartsisnowlimitedtobetween76and78decibels,comparedwiththe80decibelsoftheirforeigncompetitors.“Thissmallreductionisnottobesneezedat.Passengersnowneednotendurehighpitchnoisewhenboardingthetrains.”ShangJingtoldusthiswasjustoneminorexampleoftheinnovationshisteamhasachieved.
Throughinnovation,Chinahasindependentlydevelopedthenetworkedcontrolsystem(NCS)–theheartofhigh-speedrail–andIGBTchips.Asaresult,Chinanowhasahigh-speedrailsystem,coveringallareas–fromengineeringconstruction,highspeedEMU,traincontrol,operationmanagement,andtractionpowersupply,toriskpreventionandqualitycontrol.
Bytheendof2016,thetotallengthofChina’srailnetworkhadreached120,000km,ofwhichhighspeedtracksaccountedforonesixth.TheEMUtrainshavetravelledover3.8billionkmintotal,andhavecarried5billionpassengers.Therearemorethan4,200EMUtrainsrunningonhigh-speedtracks,carrying4.5millionpassengerseverysingleday.
AHiveofIndustryalongtheTracks
Chinesepeople’s“high-speedrailwaylife”actuallybeganin2008whentheBeijing-Tianjinlinefirstbecameoperational.Servingasaplatformuponwhichotherindustriesarelayered,China’shigh-speedrailwayshaveintegratedindustriesworthtrillionsofRMB,greatlymultiplyingtheireconomicvalue.
AccordingtoShangJing,“AcompleteindustrychainhasformedinChina’shigh-speedrailindustry,includinglocomotivemanufacturing,keycomponentsandaccessoriesproduction.”
TheZhuzhouCRRCTimesElectricCo.,Ltd.issituatedinZhuzhou,acityinHunanProvince,southernChina.ItisseenasthecenterofChina’srailroaddiplomacy.Anumberofrail-relatedindustrieshaveclusteredhere,formingacompleteindustrialchainrangingfromR&Dtomanufacturing,after-salesserviceandlogistics.TheembryonicCRh380Ahigh-speedtrainattheCRRCQingdaoSifangCo.,Ltd.productionsiteonJanuary6,2015.GLOBALIZATION
TheglobalizationofChina’shigh-speedrailindustryservestosupporttheroll-outoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.Atpresent,thereareover320enterprisesprovidingrailtransitequipment,amongwhich62areenterprisesabovedesignatedsize.“ThisclusterofrelatedenterpriseswillgiveChina’srailtransitindustrytheedgeitneedstocompeteintheinternationalarena,whileradiatingto30otherindustries.Chinesecompanieswillthustakeashareintheglobalrailtransitmarketworth€190billion,”saidLiuYoumei,anacademicianoftheChineseAcademyofEngineeringandheadoftheexpert’scommissionatZhuzhouCRRCTimesElectric.
Undoubtedly,ashigh-speedrailwaydevelops,relatedindustriessuchasironandsteel,newmaterials,infrastructuredevelopmentandmachinebuildingalsobenefit.ShangJingbelievesthatthehigh-speedrailway’sstrictselectionofsuppliersforcescompaniestoimprovetheirquality,safetyandcost.Asaresult,thewholemanufacturingsectorhasprogressed.
Agoodexampleofthisradiationeffectisan“EMUtraintown”inQingdao,whereCRRCQingdaoSifangCo.,Ltd.,islocated.QingdaoisacoastalcityinEastChinawheretherearemorethan100suppliersofrailequipment.Inthecountryasawholetherearemorethan500equipmentsuppliers,contributingtoanannualoutputvalueofnearlyRMB100billion.
Thisradiationeffectofhigh-speedrailhasevenfurther-reachingimplications.Italsobenefitsregionaleconomicdevelopment.WangLan,anofficialfromChinaAcademyofRailwaySciences,commented:“Thebuildingofhigh-speedrailwayswillstrengthenlinksbetweencities,aidingthequickflowofcapital,technologyandhumanresourceswithinaregion.Asaresult,theinteractionbetweencitieswillbemuchmoreeffective.”
Moreimportantly,asChina’shigh-speedrailindustrygoesglobal,boththeChineseeconomyandforeigncountriesstandtobenefit.
GoingGlobal
TheglobalizationofChina’shigh-speedrailindustryservestosupporttheroll-outoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.InAsiaalone,travelspeedsof300kmperhourwillmakemostAsiancitiesreachablewithin24hours.Inadditiontologisticsandcostadvantages,thereisalsotheconventionaladvantageoffreighttransportation.
Severalmultinationalprojectsareunderway,suchastheJakarta-BandunglineinIndonesia,theMoscow-KazanlineinRussia,andtheKualaLumpurSingaporeline.
TaketheJakarta-Bandung(JB)lineinIndonesiaasacase-study.Constructionstartedatthebeginningof2016.Thislinehas150kmofhighspeedtracks,linkingIndonesia’scapitaltoitsfourthlargestcity.Itshighestspeedisdesignedtoreach350kmperhourandthelineisexpectedtobecomeoperationalinthreeyears.Thejourneybetweenthetwocitieswilltakejust40minutesinsteadofthepresentthreehours.
ThislinenotonlyexportsChina’sindustries,butalsobringsbenefitstopeoplealongtheBeltandRoadroutesandpromotesthedevelopmentoflocalindustriessuchastherailindustry.Mr.SoemarnofromIndonesia’sMinistryofState-ownedEnterprisessaidthattheJBlinewillcreateneweconomicgrowthzonesalongitstracks,andlayfoundationsforthebuildingofafutureJakarta-Surabayaline.
TheMayorofBandungaddedthatBandungisaservice-orientedcityreliantoncommerceandtrade,investmentandtourism.TheJBlinewillbring10timesasmanypeopleasbefore,whichwillbeabigboosttothecity’seconomy.
“Atpresent,there’snorailtransitinBandung,andthecity’sannualgrowthrateis8.8percent,”hesaid.“I’mconfidentthatthisfigurewillsurgetoover10percentwhentheJBhigh-speedrailwayandlightrailtransitsystembecomeoperational.”TheJBhighspeedrailwayisexpectedtodrivethedevelopmentofsmelting,manufacturingandinfrastructureconstructioninIndonesia,thusbringingmoreworkopportunitiesandfuellingtheupgradeofitsindustrialstructure.