China to restart world’s fastest bullet trains running at 350 Kmph
21 Aug 2017
China is set to restart the world's fastest bullet trains, running at 350 kilometers (217 miles) per hour.
The trains will run the Beijing to Shanghai route starting next month, making the 1,250-kilometer (777-mile) journey in 4 hours, 30 minutes flat. Other routes are in the offing.
The services were introduced in August 2008 when trains ran at 350 kilometers per hour, but were slowed down to 250-300 kilometers per hour in 2011 following a two-train collision near the city of Wenzhou that killed 40 people and injured 191.
China operates over 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) of high-speed rail, with a target of adding another 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) by 2020.
The world's fastest train service will officially start operations next month, knocking an hour off the 1,318 km journey between Beijing and Shanghai.
According to Chinese government controlled news website, Thepaper.cn, seven pairs of bullet trains named Fuxing, meaning rejuvenation, will start operating from 21 September. The national rejuvenation slogan is being promoted by Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Currently, the fastest trains in the country have their speed capped at 300km/h.
They are named Hexie, or Harmony, a key slogan for Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao.
China now offers its bullet trains and railways to other countries, especially under the ''Belt and Road Initiative''.
According to state-owned operator, China Railway, the Beijing-Shanghai route is one of the most used lines, with around 600 million passengers using the service a year since its opening in 2011.
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