In 1994, the first pilot high-speed train with a speed of 160 km to 200 km per hour was put into operation on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Line. It marked a technological stride forward and also laid a solid foundation for the construction of high-speed railways across the country.

On April 1, 1997, China for the first time raised the speed limit of trains on the country's major railways. The Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Harbin routes were all given the green light to push the trains faster, with their average speed reaching 90 km per hour and the highest speed hitting 140 km per hour. The average train speed in the country was lifted from 48 to 55 km per hour.

In the following 10 years, China raised its railway speed six times. A series of fast trains operating at over 200 km per hour were put on line, while cargo train speed was increased to 120 km per hour. The speed was three times faster than that in the early 1990s.

In June 2008, the Beijing-Tianjin Inter-City Line began operation, with designed train speed exceeding 350 km per hour, the fastest in the world. The time it takes to travel from Beijing to Tianjin is shortened from one-and-a-half hours to only half an hour. The decrease in travel time makes the two cities virtually into one. The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, which is now under construction, is expected to be complete in 2010.

High-speed railways will not only alleviate transportation pressures, but also bring enormous convenience to train travelers.

By 2020, China will establish fast passenger lines on 12,000 km of rail, connecting large and medium-sized cities to form a network of high-speed land connections to meet the needs of the country's rapid economic and social development.

When the Qinghai-Tibet Railway started running on July 1, 2007, railways had finally connected all of China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

Big plans for big engines

Ministry of Railways researcher Wu Weiping said 60 years of arduous development has allowed China to manufacture all types of advanced rolling stock and train equipment. In the process, the country has become independent of imported railroad equipment and machiney. As a show of China's advancing technology and abilities, the rolling stock being used in the new CRH program is produced domestically.

Before 1949, most of the rolling stock on Chinese railways was imported. After that year, the railway department built its own factory to produce equipment for the country. In 1952, it began to build steam locomotives. In 1958, diesel locomotives started rolling out of the factory. In 1960 the switch was made to electric engines.

By the end of 1981, China had built and deployed two-and-a-half times more locomotives than in 1949; the number of passenger trains was four times more than those running the rails in 1949; and the number of cargo trains was 5.7 times more than those running in 1949. The gross weight hauled by locomotive increased from 1,600 tons in 1949 to 3,500 tons in 1981.

Steam locomotive production gradually stopped. By 1985, some 385 diesel and electric locomotives had been produced annually. Apart from the engines, China also produces different types of passenger and cargo trains.

Over 60 years, rolling stock manufacturers have made more than 23,700 locomotives, including 9,700 steam, 11,100 diesel and 2,800 electric engines. They have also made more than 45,600 passenger and 696,700 cargo trains. The machines not only fill the domestic demand, but are also exported to foreign markets.

Currently, China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corp. and China North Rolling Group Corp. control 95 percent of the domestic market. The former, which was listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets in August 2008, holds nearly half the Chinese market share and is the leader in building the newest CRH technology.

Connecting the world

Wu Weiping said domestic railways are also linked to neighboring countries and can reach every country in Europe.

At present, China has 10 railway lines that connect the country with its neighbors-Russia and North Korea are each connected by three lines, Viet Nam by two lines, and Mongolia and Kazakhstan each by one line.

Two of the three lines connecting China to Russia-the Manzhouli-Zabaikalsk and the Suifenhe-Gurujekowo railways-began operation in 1951. The Hunchun-Mahalino Railway was launched in 2000.

All three of the lines connecting China to North Korea-the Dandong-Sinuiju, Tumen-Hamgyongand Ji'an-Manpu-began operating in 1954.