China's new high-speed rail service began on Wednesday, only to
grind to a halt in the south of the country when one train broke
down, delaying 32 others for more than five hours.
A passenger train failed to function due to a "mechanical
glitch" en route from Guangzhou to Shenzhen at 7:35 AM, delaying
other rail traffic, including 21 high-speed trains, said officials
with Guangzhou Railway Group.
The official made a public apology for the delay, but declined
to say whether the stalled engine was a high-speed train.
Local railway departments took emergency measures and schedules
returned to normal at 12:40 PM.
China rocketed its railway development forward on Wednesday as
280 high-speed trains went into operation. More than 500 high-speed
trains will be in service by the end of the year.
"Safety is crucial in the speed boost,” said Zhang Shuguang, the
ministry's deputy chief engineer, adding the government had
allocated about 100 million yuan to "thoroughly improve and
upgrade" tracks.
In 2006, China made up for a quarter of the world's railway
transport volume, while its total lengths of track was only six
percent, said a spokesman with the ministry.
The speed boost would help to increase passenger capacity on the
nation's 77,000-km of rail lines by 18 percent and cargo capacity
by 12 percent, according to the ministry.
Travel times between major cities would be slashed by up to half
as the trains run at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, said
Hu Yadong, Vice Minister of Railways. Currently, express trains
travel at an average of 115 kilometers per hour.
Before the first speed boost in 1997, trains could travel at a
maximum speed of 140 kilometers per hour.
However, the development of the new trains has put airlines
under pressure.
The average travel time by air between Beijing and Shenyang,
capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, more than 800 kilometers
away, is four hours, including check-in time, security checks and
travel into the downtown area from the airport on the outskirts of
the city.
But now, the train also takes four hours at a cost of 218 yuan
(US$28), while a flight costs 700 yuan (US$90).
Airlines have not announced any price cuts but a spokesman from
the north China branch of China Southern Airlines said that they
would respond to the railway speed lift by improving service
quality and ensuring punctuality. "We will not engage in price
competition," said the man on condition of anonymity.
Experts have also warned people living near to railways to be
careful when high-speed trains pass. "When a train whistles by at
56 meters per second, it generates an air current as strong as a
gale and a person standing too close to the line can be 'sucked in'
by the train," said Dai Shile, an engineer with the Zhengzhou
Railway Bureau.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2007)