Building China's impressive high-speed rail

—Safe production

Safety has been boosted with the help of science and technology. The Fuxing Intelligent EMU has more than 2,700 monitored points, and features in-transit self-awareness, health management, and fault diagnosis technologies, which provide comprehensive real-time monitoring of train operations. China has also developed online monitoring systems for HSR equipment, including high-speed inspection vehicles and on-track detection and sensing devices, which use big data analysis to precisely control HSR infrastructure. Natural disasters and public security risks are mitigated thanks to the development of natural disaster (including wind, rain, and snow) monitoring equipment as well as foreign object intrusion and earthquake monitoring and early warning systems.

With the focus on realizing people's desire for a better life and reforming the supply structure of transportation in China, a passenger transportation quality improvement plan and Fuxing brand strategy have been implemented to improve the all-round experience and operations of HSR.

—Safety

China's HSR puts safety first and focuses on quality in every aspect of construction and operations management. It implements a program of "creating solid foundations, meeting standards, and raising quality and efficiency," as well as a three-pronged security system consisting of human, material, and technological defenses, which enables comprehensive management of the external security environment of HSR and ensures the safety and reliability of the network. As of the end of June 2021, China's HSR system had safely travelled 9.28 billion km, equivalent to 232,000 laps around the Earth, and safely transported 14.12 billion passengers.

—Efficiency

As part of the operational efficiency of the HSR network, train timetables are dynamically altered each day of the year to optimize HSR supply, allowing the number of trains operating to grow and their coverage to expand. At present, the national railways operate an average of more than 7,400 HSR trains per day, accounting for 77 percent of all passenger trains. A report issued by the World Bank in 2019 stated that passenger density on China's HSR services is about twice the density of HSR in Europe.

—Comfort

China's HSR lines are constructed from ballastless track, with heavy-duty superlong steel rails and seamless tracks, for an extremely smooth ride. The Fuxing EMU features high-speed bogie with excellent damping performance, ensuring low vehicle vibration acceleration, amplitude, and noise, and meeting the highest international standards for onboard stability. Technical issues related to train aerodynamics, wheel-rail contact, and train airtightness have been addressed to improve safety and comfort when trains enter and exit tunnels and pass each other at high speed. The on-board air conditioning system provides fresh air at a rate of 16 m3 per person per hour, which is 7 percent-60 percent higher than the HSR trains of other countries. The carriages are wide and spacious, with a cross-sectional area of 11.2 m2, which is 14.3 percent larger than other countries, offering passengers a more comfortable travel environment.

—Convenience

China has built the world's largest online railway ticketing system (known as 12306), which has the capacity to sell up to 20 million tickets each day. Currently, 86.2 percent of tickets are sold online, with the single-day record at 90 percent. The launch of the 12306 platform has facilitated e-ticketing, mobile payments, online seat selection, entry into stations using facial recognition, and pre-order meal services. Traditional services, such as paper ticketing and station ticket sales windows, have also been retained for the sake of the elderly and non-Internet users, all of which has significantly improved the quality of service on China's railways.

—Cost

The World Bank's 2019 report stated that even though many Chinese HSR lines have a high proportion of their route on viaducts or in tunnels, the Chinese network has been built at only two-thirds the average cost in other countries, and the economic rate of return is positive, giving reason to be optimistic about the long-term economic viability of the major trunk railways.

(This article is an excerpt from "Building China's Impressive High-Speed Rail", by Lu Dongfu, Chairman of the Board of China State Railway Group, originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, English edition, No 5, 2021)