Choo Choo!! China launches world longest high speed line

Squeaky the Squirrel

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/worlds-longest-high-speed-rail-line-opens-in-china/2012/12/25/9f01b354-4f10-11e2-835b-02f92c0daa43_story.html

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/12/26/china-opens-worlds-longest-high-speed-rail-route/

corktina

can enough people afford the tickets though?

gobnaitolunacy

Somehow, I doubt they will be using 'choo choos'....

CIE

Bucking for another Wenzhou disaster.

My name is URL

corktina wrote: »

can enough people afford the tickets though?

Who cares about demand when might is the USP?!

Don't want to sound like a sinophobe... but it's difficult not to. At least some people are making money because of their follies.. I guess.

juan.kerr

Should we be impressed?

Is making a 1000 mile line long line any more technically challenging than making one 500 miles long?

Come back to us when they build a train line to the moon, or at least somewhere I'd want to go.

KCAccidental

juan.kerr wrote: »

Should we be impressed?

Is making a 1000 mile line long line any more technically challenging than making one 500 miles long?

Come back to us when they build a train line to the moon, or at least somewhere I'd want to go.

China is clearly taking the lead on high-speed rail, but it is not satisfied just to have it within its own country. It wants a straight connection to Europe on high-speed rail now.

http://cleantechnica.com/2010/03/13/china-wants-to-connect-its-high-speed-rail-to-europe-largest-infrastructure-project-in-history/

juan.kerr

KCAccidental wrote: »

http://cleantechnica.com/2010/03/13/china-wants-to-connect-its-high-speed-rail-to-europe-largest-infrastructure-project-in-history/

So that's a no then.

The Chinese haven't reached the point where they discover that bigger isn't always better. In some ways that are quite naive.

KCAccidental

juan.kerr wrote: »

So that's a no then.

The Chinese haven't reached the point where they discover that bigger isn't always better. In some ways that are quite naive.

I quite like the fact that they are future proofing their infrastructure while they have the cash to spend, as opposed to the developed world where it's as cheap and as little done as possible. Nothing is ever built here in preparation for higher demand any more.

that said, the other side of the coin is that we have (somewhat) more vigourous safety laws.

juan.kerr

KCAccidental wrote: »

I quite like the fact that they are future proofing their infrastructure while they have the cash to spend, as opposed to the developed world where it's as cheap and as little done as possible. Nothing is ever built here in preparation for higher demand any more.

Is that why thet do it, or is it a vanity project, like a space race where no one else is competing?

KCAccidental

juan.kerr wrote: »

Is that why thet do it, or is it a vanity project, like a space race where no one else is competing?

well they have the largest population in the world and up until about 15 years ago 3rd world infrastructure. Eastern China has modernised rapidly and with that comes increased demand for cars, travel etc. especially as internal migration has rocketed in the country. Long distance rail is needed badly to spread the economic wealth.

Also it's hard for us to envision just how many people actually live in China. All of our cultural signposts come from the west, so we consider Chinese cities on the scale of American and European.. which is fine, but we dont really notice the fact that China has so many more large cities. there over 80 cities with over 1,000,000 people and 9 cities over 5,000,000. Then you have millions more living in the hinterland of the major cities. As China modernizes further, the population will increase and the people will have more money to spend on travel etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_by_urban_population

and this link shows the population in the built up areas surrounding the major cities... mind boggling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China_by_population

This infrastructure is badly needed for China to remain competitive in the future. They won't always have the market dominance on cheap labour!

dowlingm

The Chinese are nosing for export sales of their trains so they can't take as many risks as they would have before when they could have shut down all mention of incidents.

Expect a CRH1B passing through Tubbercurry some time around 2020

The Idyl Race

Choo choo indeed. Jesus. I'm reminded of any number of overexcited middle class mammies going "choo choo" to their brats on the Luas.