China's new high-speed train model CR450 is currently undergoing extensive tests and evaluations on its prototypes, paving the way for the commercial operation of this new bullet train.
Known as the world's fastest high-speed train, the CR450 is capable of running at 450 kilometers per hour in tests and 400 kilometers per hour in operation, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd (China Railway).
Prototypes of the latest model in the Fuxing bullet train series were unveiled in Beijing on Dec 29, 2024.
Engineers at the test center have been carefully overseeing the "weight control" of the CR450 prototypes. To achieve this, they have installed sensors on the tracks, which transmit real-time weight data for each of the eight wheels on both sides of every carriage to a computer system. This allows for precise monitoring and adjustments to ensure optimal performance.
"While reducing the weight, we must ensure that its strength does not decrease, and we even need to increase its strength, because of the higher speed. It's just like a person who wants to slim down while also building strength. This involves structural changes and material innovations," said Chen Can, an associate researcher at the vehicle institute of China Academy of Railway Sciences Corporation Limited.
The train body adopts new materials such as carbon fiber composites and magnesium alloys, alongside topology optimization technology. The fully covered structural design, for the first time, completely encloses the entire bogie area, which ensures the smoothness of the entire vehicle and minimizes the drag.
The CR450 also features the permanent magnet motor, replacing the asynchronous traction motor. To address extreme conditions, the development team designed over 40 scenarios and conducted hundreds of simulation tests around just one motor.
"Stepping out of our comfort zone means to modify or overturn the established and relatively mature practices, and adapt to current technological trends and innovate continuously," said Ha Dalei, a senior designer at the National Engineering Research Center of Rail Transportation of CRRC (China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation) Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd.
"As our Fuxing model progresses, so do our competitors. We have been catching up and are fully aware of the difficulties involved. To maintain our lead, we must continuously explore and update technologies, and drive industry development through innovation," said Nie Ying, a senior designer at CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd.
The tests also include extensive ground testings.
Although spreed increase and lightweight design posed significant challenges to noise control, the team has successfully reduced noise.
"According to the results of today's tests, the data are excellent. The noise level is far below our limit. I can't disclose the exact figure yet, but it is indeed very good," said Tian Pengyi, an associate researcher at the vehicle institute of the China Academy of Railway Sciences Corporation Limited.
After seven years of technical breakthroughs and independent innovation, the CR450 high-speed train is expected to undergo full vehicle testing and trial evaluations in 2025.
Prototypes of China's new high-speed train CR450 undergo testing
International guests who have dedicated their lives to historical truth joined China's 12th national memorial event honoring the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by Japanese troops in the Nanjing Massacre during World War II.
The memorial was held on Saturday at the public square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China's national flag was flown at half-mast in the presence the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students, and international guests.
In one of the most barbaric episodes during WWII, the Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.
Joining the crowd was Christoph Reinhardt, the great-grandson of John Rabe (1882-1950) who was then a representative of German conglomerate Siemens in the war-ravaged Nanjing. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and they together saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese people between 1937 and 1938 from the Japanese invaders.
Throughout the massacre, Rabe continued to keep a diary. To this day, all his pages remain one of the most comprehensive historical records of the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors.
Sayoko Yamauchi, who was also in the crowd of mourners, arrived in Nanjing on Friday from Japan's Osaka to attend Saturday's ceremony, just as she has done almost every year since China designated Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014.
Yamauchi's grandfather was one of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Nanjing in January 1938. However, since first setting foot in Nanjing in 1987, she has dedicated herself to uncovering and spreading the truth about Japan's history of aggression and enlightening the Japanese public about their country's wartime atrocities.
In 2014, ahead of China's first National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Yamauchi, along with 10 other individuals, received an award for her special contribution to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
By attending the grand memorial event, Reinhardt and Yamauchi both said they hope to convey a message of remembering history and cherishing peace.
"This is my fifth visit to China, and Nanjing, and the third times I visited the ceremony. I have a wish that these survivors survive again and again and again. But my other wish is that the families of the survivors, that they transport the information, the right intention like their ancestors, because anyone must hold a hand (during) this remembering," Reinhardt told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview before the event began on Saturday.
"Our delegation is on its 20th visit to China, coming to Nanjing to express our heartfelt condolences to those who perished 88 years ago, to remember this history, and to reflect on what we can do for a new future. That's why we are here," Yamauchi told CCTV on board the bus that took her to a local hotel in Nanjing on Friday evening.
Int'l guests call for remembering history at China's national event honoring Nanjing Massacre victims
