Technological innovation used in the latest development of China's high-speed railway trains has helped elevate and upgrade the industrial chain of the country's high-speed rail sector.
The prototype of China's CR450 high-speed EMU (electric multiple unit) train, with a designed operation speed of 400 kilometers per hour, is scheduled to roll off the assembly line within the year. It's predecessor, China's Fuxing CR400 EMU train, has been operating on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway since September 2017, with an operation speed of 350 kilometers per hour, a benchmark for high-speed rail operation speed worldwide.
The development of the CR450 EMU marks a technological breakthrough based on the CR400, which further increases the operation speed by around 50 kilometers per hour.
According to a senior engineer working on the CR450 project, a large amount of carbon fiber composite materials were adopted in the CR450 EMU prototype, featuring a lower density compared with traditional materials
They also have advantages in various technical indicators such as light weight, high strength, heat and fatigue resistance that can help reduce the weight of the trains, increase the speed while lowering energy consumption.
"Here I am holding a carbon fiber mat. Carbon fiber materials are widely used in the equipment compartment and coupler shields of the CR450, as they can reduce the weight by 30 percent compared with traditional materials, which make the trains lighter and consume less energy while running," said Nie Ying, chief designer for high speed trains under China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) Sifang based in Qingdao, a port city in eastern China's Shandong Province. As China's high-speed train runs faster, the technological innovation has also driven the upgrading of the entire industrial chain.
Currently, a series of special industrial clusters related to high-speed railroad system have been established in Changchun of northeast China's Jilin Province, Qingdao of east China's Shandong Province and Zhuzhou of central China's Hunan Province among others.
"For example, manufacturers of basic machines are surrounded by many supporting suppliers, therefore forming industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions of yuan in scale. From this perspective, the development of high-speed railway sector has a tremendous driving effect on the overall industrial transformation and upgrading of the country," said Zhao Hongwei, principal researcher of the China Academy of Railway Sciences.
Official data showed that as of the end of 2023, China's operating railway network spanned a total of about 159,000 km, with high-speed railways contributing 45,000 km to the mileage.
Chinese railways top the world in passenger and freight turnover, with the Fuxing high-speed trains operating across 31 provincial-level regions nationwide, according to the National Railway Administration.
Tech innovation drives industrial chain upgrading of China's high-speed railway
