China Railway High-speed

Rolling stock

China Railway High-speed runs different electric multiple unit trainsets, the name Hexie Hao (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; lit. 'Harmony') is for designs which are imported from other nations and designated CRH-1 through CRH-5 and CRH380A(L), CRH380B(L), and CRH380C(L). CRH trainsets are intended to provide fast and convenient travel between cities. Some of the Hexie Hao train sets are manufactured locally through technology transfer, a key requirement for China. The signalling, track and support structures, control software, and station design are developed domestically with foreign elements as well. By 2010, the track system as a whole is predominantly Chinese. China currently holds many new patents related to the internal components of these trains, re-designed to allow the trains to run at higher speeds than the foreign designs allowed. However, these patents are only valid within China, and as such hold no international power. The weakness on intellectual property of Hexie Hao causes obstructions for China to export its high-speed rail related products, which lead to the development of the completely redesigned train brand called Fuxing Hao (simplified Chinese: 复兴号; traditional Chinese: 復興號; pinyin: Fùxīng Hào; lit. 'Rejuvenation'), based on indigenous technologies.

The trainsets are as follows:

Hexie (Harmony)

• CRH1 produced by Bombardier Transportation's joint venture Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation (BST), CRH1A, and CRH1B, nicknamed "Metro" or "Bread", derived from Bombardier's Regina; CRH1E, nicknamed "Lizard", is Bombardier's ZEFIRO 250 design
  • CRH1A: sets consists of 8 cars; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • CRH1B: a modified 16-car version; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • CRH1E: a 16-car high-speed sleeper version; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
• CRH2: nicknamed "Hairtail", derived from E2 Series 1000 Shinkansen
  • CRH2A: In 2006, China unveiled CRH2, a modified version of the Japanese Shinkansen E2-1000 series. An order for 60 8-car sets had been placed in 2004, with the first few built in Japan, the rest produced by Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock in China.
  • CRH2B: a modified 16-car version of CRH2; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • CRH2C (Stage one): a modified version of CRH2 with a maximum operating speed up to 300 km/h as a result of replacing two intermediate trailer cars with motored cars
  • CRH2C (Stage two): a modified version of CRH2C (stage one) has a maximum operating speed up to 350 km/h by using more powerful motors
  • CRH2E: a modified 16-car version of CRH2 with sleeping cars
• CRH3: nickname "Rabbit", derived from Siemens ICE3 (class 403); 8-car sets; maximum operating speed of 350 km/h
• CRH5A: derived from Alstom Pendolino ETR600; 8-car sets; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
• CRH6: designed by CSR Puzhen and CSR Sifang, will be manufactured by CSR Jiangmen. It is designed to have two versions: one with a top operating speed of 220 km/h; the other with a top operating speed of 160 km/h. They will be used on 200 km/h or 250 km/h Inter-city High Speed Rail lines; planned to enter service by 2011
• CRH380A; Maximum operating speed of 380 km/h. Developed by CSR based on CRH2 and manufactured by Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock; entered service in 2010
  • CRH380A: 8-car version
  • CRH380AL: 16-car version
• CRH380B: upgraded version of CRH3; maximum operating speed of 380 km/h, manufactured by Tangshan Railway Vehicle and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles; entered service in 2011
  • CRH380B: 8-car version
  • CRH380BL: 16-car version
• CRH380CL: designed and manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles. Maximum operating speed of 380 km/h; entered service in 2012
• CRH380D: also named Zefiro 380; maximum operating speed of 380 km/h, manufactured by Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd.; entered service in 2012
  • CRH380D: 8-car version
  • CRH380DL: 16-car version (Cancelled in place of additional CRH1A and Zefiro 250NG sets)

CRH1A, B, E, CRH2A, B, E, and CRH5A are designed for a maximum operating speed (MOR) of 200 km/h and can reach up to 250 km/h. CRH3C and CRH2C designs have an MOR of 300 km/h, and can reach up to 350 km/h, with a top testing speed of more than 380 km/h. However, issues such as maintenance costs, comfort, and safety make the maximum speed of more than 380 km/h impractical and remain limiting factors.

Fuxing (Rejuvenation)

• CR450AF: Maximum operating speed of 400 km/h; Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
• CR450BF: Maximum operating speed of 400 km/h; Developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
• CR400AF: Maximum operating speed of 350 km/h; Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • CR400AF: 8-car version
  • CR400AF-A: 16-car version
  • CR400AF-B: 17-car version
• CR400BF: Maximum operating speed of 350 km/h; Developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • CR400BF: 8-car version
  • CR400BF-A: 16-car version
  • CR400BF-B: 17-car version
• CR300AF: Maximum operating speed of 250 km/h; Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
• CR300BF: Maximum operating speed of 250 km/h; Developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
• CR200J: Maximum operating speed of 160 km/h; Developed by CRRC Nanjing Puzhen, CRRC Qingdao Sifang, CRRC Tangshan, CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, CRRC Datong and CRRC Dalian.

Chinese MOR CRH trainsets order timetable

Chinese MOR CRH trainsets order timetable

Chinese CRH trainsets delivery timetable

Based on data published by Sinolink Securities; some small changes were made according to the most recent news.

• ^1 All CRH380B and CRH380C units to be delivered before 2012.
• ^2 All CRH380D units to be delivered before 2014.

Hexie trains

Fuxing trains

Ridership

Annual HSR ridership is highest in the world and has ramped up very quickly, as self-reported by rail authorities. China is the third country, after Japan and France, to have reached one billion cumulative HSR passengers. Ridership in 2018 was above 2 billion per year; by 2024 it was above 3 billion per year.

Technology development

Before the introduction of foreign technology, China conducted independent attempts to domestically develop high-speed rail technology. Some notable results included the China Star, but domestic companies lacked the technology and expertise of foreign companies, and the research process consumed a large amount of time. In 2004, the Chinese State Council and the Ministry of Railways defined a modern railway technology and equipment policy as "the introduction of advanced technology, the joint design and production, to build China brand". The realization of the railway "leapfrog development" is the key task required to develop and utilize the technology required for high-speed trains (higher than 200 km/h or 124 mph per hour). In 2007, Chinese state media quoted the People's Republic of China Ministry of Railways spokesman Zhang Shuguang to have stated that due to historical reasons, China's overall railway technology and equipment is similar to that of developed countries' rail systems in the 1970s; high-speed rolling stock development is still in its infancy stage. And that if using only their own resources and expertise, the country might need a decade or longer to catch up with developed nations.

Technology introduction

On April 9, 2004, the Chinese government held a conference on modern railway equipment and rolling stock, in which they drafted the current Chinese plan to modernize the country's railway infrastructure with advanced technologies.

On June 17, 2004, the Ministry of Railways launched the first round of bidding on the high-speed rail technology, but the company must be:

• legally registered in the PRC, with rail EMU manufacturing capacity
• able to manufacture trains with the ability to reach 200 km/h (124 mph)

High-speed EMU design and manufacturing technology companies, including Siemens, Alstom, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Bombardier, initially had hoped to enter into a joint venture in China, but was rejected by the Ministry of Railways. The MOR set these guidelines for joint ventures to be acceptable:

• comprehensive transfer of key technologies
• lowest price in the world
• use of a Chinese brand

A comprehensive transfer of technology to Chinese enterprises (especially in systems integration, AC drive and other core technologies) was requested to allow domestic enterprises to access and utilise the core technology. While foreign partners might provide technical services and training, the Chinese companies must ultimately be able to function without the partnership. Railway equipment manufacturers in China were free to choose foreign partners, but foreign firms must pre-bid and sign the technology transfer agreement with China's domestic manufacturers, so the Chinese rolling stock manufacturers could comprehensively and systematically learn advanced foreign technology. However, this requirement to sign over all rights to the technology used in the trains was a significant barrier to international involvement in the project, as the companies would lose access to any technology that they used on the trains.

In the first round of bidding, 140 rolling stock orders were divided into seven packages of twenty orders each. After extensive review and negotiation, three consortiums won the bid:

• Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. (owned by CNR) with France's Alstom
• Sifang Locomotive (owned by CSR) with Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries
• Sifang Locomotive (owned by CSR) with Canada's Bombardier

These three consortiums were each given three, three, and one twenty order packages respectively. Germany's Siemens, as a result of an expensive technology bid — the prototype vehicle cost was 350 million yuan each column, technology transfer fee 390 million euros — did not get any orders in the first round. EMU tendered 22.7 billion yuan for technology transfer payments in the first payment, accounting for 51 per cent of the amount of the tender.

In November 2005, the Chinese Ministry of Railways and Siemens reached an agreement, and Siemens in a joint venture with Changchun Railway Vehicles and Tangshan Railway Vehicle (both owned by CNR) was awarded sixty 300 km/h (186 mph) high-speed train orders.

Innovation

The introduction of high-speed trains, a foreign advanced technology, was required in order to implement China's "Long-term Scientific and Technological Development (2006–2020)". The core technology innovations necessary for a high-speed rail system to meet the needs of China's railway development resulted in the Ministry of Science and Ministry of Railways signing the "independent innovation of Chinese high-speed train cooperation agreement Joint Action Plan" on February 26, 2008. Academicians and researchers from CAS, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Southwest Jiaotong University, and Beijing Jiaotong University have committed to working together on basic research into improving China's scientific and industrial resources into developing a high-speed train system.

Under the agreement, China's joint action plan for improvement of train service and infrastructure has four components:

1. Develop key technologies to create a network capable of supporting trains' speeds of 350 km/h (217 mph) and higher
2. Establish intellectual property rights and international competitiveness
3. Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Railways will work together to enhance industry research alliances, and innovation capability
4. Promote China-related material and equipment capacity

The Chinese Ministry of Science has invested nearly 10 billion yuan in this science and technology plan, which is by far the largest investment program. The project has brought together a total of 25 universities, 11 research institutes, and national laboratories, and 51 engineering research centers. The Ministry of Science hopes to develop basic research sufficient to produce key technologies necessary to develop trains capable of 500 km/h (310 mph) through the "863 Project" and "973 Project".

Technology export

On July 27, 2009, Chinese Ministry deputy chief engineer Zhang Shuguang stated that the United States, Saudi Arabia and Brazil are interested in Chinese high-speed railway technology. On July 28, the Federal Railroad Administration and the US government are negotiating on the introduction of Chinese railway technology. On October 14, 2009, Prime minister of Russia Vladimir Putin and the Russian Railroad Administration signed an Organizing and developing railway in Russia memo with Ministry of Railways of China, planning to build a high-speed railway from Vladivostok to Khabarovsk.

The first actual export of Chinese High-Speed Rail technology is the Jakarta - Bandung High-speed Rail of Indonesia with modified Fuxing (KCIC400AF) trainsets and operational speed of 350 km/h. Construction of its first phase, from Eastern Jakarta at Halim to the suburbs of Bandung at Padalarang & Tegalluar, commenced in 2016 and was completed by late 2023. By its first full year of operation the line had carried approximately 5.79 million passengers, with plans to extend the line to Surabaya in preliminary studies as of 2025.

Accidents

• On July 23, 2011 at approximately 20:00 CST, two high-speed trains travelling on the Yongtaiwen railway line No. D301 and No. D3115 bound for Fuzhou collided on a viaduct near Wenzhou, Zhejiang, leading to 40 deaths and 191 injuries. Both trains were on the same rail track, headed in the same direction. D3115 ground to a halt in front of D301 due to a loss of electric power caused by lightning striking a viaduct near the Ou River. Signalling systems purportedly failed, and D301 rear-ended the first train, sending four carriages off the viaduct.
• On June 4, 2022 at 10:30 CST, train D2809 bound for Guangzhou East from Guiyang North ran into a landslide near the Rongjiang Station on the Guiyang-Guangzhou High-speed railway. The driver engaged emergency brake, and two carriages were derailed and hit the platform of Rongjiang Station, killing the driver and injuring 8 passengers. The remaining 136 passengers were safely evacuated. This is the second fatal incident in China's high speed rail history.