Into the Fast Lane

Passengers and attendants pose for a photo on the G8811 train on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway on December 30, 2019
A bullet train passes through a bridge over Guanting Lake on the border of Beijing and Zhangjiakou during a test run on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway on October 27, 2019
The G2505 train stops at the Zhangjiakou Railway Station on December 30, 2019
Passengers on board the G8811 train on December 30, 2019
A passenger has his photo taken at the departure lounge of the Zhangjiakou Railway Station to mark the launch of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway on December 30, 2019

The first train on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway darted out of the Beijing North Railway Station on December 30, 2019, loaded with significance. It marked the official launch of the railway connecting two co-host cities of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Beijing and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province.

The railway shortens travel time between the two cities to 47 minutes from over 3 hours. It has a maximum designed speed of 350 km per hour.

Launched some 110 years after the inauguration of the country's first independently built railway linking the same two cities, the new line is the smartest high-speed railway in China, with 5G signals, wireless charging and other intelligent systems. Thanks to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the train can automatically start, run between stations and adjust its timing according to the schedule.

Problems such as aging parts and damaged lights can be detected by sensors in real time. Robots can guide passengers or carry their luggage. Travelers can check in online or by face scanning.

More importantly, the 174-km railway is a step to put the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region into the fast lane.

(Photos by Xinhua News Agency)

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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