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China increasing use of speedy trains
2007-04-19
Faster Chinese trains running at about 125 mph began service Wednesday as part of a bid to keep up with ballooning transport demand, state media reported. The first of scores of high-speed trains left Shanghai Wednesday morning for the nearby city of Suzhou, making the 53-mile trip in 39 minutes, Xinhua News Agency reported. "It felt like we were traveling on an airplane," said Chen Lijuan, 78, a Suzhou native who lives in Shanghai. "In the past it took more than an hour to get here." The speed upgrade is the sixth in the history of China's railways, which provide a vital, low-cost link between the scattered regions of the vast nation of 1.3 billion people. On some routes, top speeds will climb to 155 mph, cutting two hours off the trip between Shanghai and Beijing to as little as nine hours. Millions of Chinese take trains every year, but the railways have been facing stiff competition from the growing highway system and increasingly inexpensive, more convenient air travel. China is upgrading tracks for faster speeds, and expanding its rail network. Last year saw the opening of a 710-mile line to Tibet's capital, crossing mountain passes at more than 16,400 feet. With land availability growing tighter -- especially in the heavily populated Yangtze river delta region around Shanghai -- increasing speeds is seen as the best way to boost capacity. Xinhua quoted Vice Railways Minister Hu Yadong as saying the speed increase would raise passenger capacity by more than 18 percent and freight capacity by more than 12 percent.
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