World's fastest high-speed train CR450 undergoing rigorous testing

China

World's fastest high-speed train CR450 undergoing rigorous testing

2025-03-01 17:18 Last Updated At：19:57

China's CR450 high-speed train, the fastest in the world, is entering an intensive testing phase, with researchers confident it could be ready for commercial service within two years, offering higher speeds, enhanced safety, improved energy efficiency, greater comfort, and advanced intelligence.

Unveiled in Beijing at the end of 2024, the CR450 prototype is now the focus of a series of scientific tests and performance evaluations aimed at ensuring its readiness for commercial operation.

This cutting-edge train boasts impressive specifications, including a test speed of 450 kilometers per hour and an operational speed of 400 kilometers per hour, making it the fastest high-speed rail vehicle globally. Notably, it achieves this speed without increasing braking distances, while also reducing aerodynamic drag by 22 percent and cutting its total weight by 10 percent. Interior noise levels have been lowered by two decibels, and business class seating is designed to rotate 300 degrees, enhancing passenger comfort.

Zhao Hongwei,principal researcher of the China Academy of Railway Sciences and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, has been deeply involved in the CR450's development since its inception.

"We started planning the CR450 back in 2018. It took three years to nail down the top technical specifications, and we commenced the project officially in 2021," she said.

These indicators focus on achieving higher speeds, enhanced safety, improved energy efficiency, greater comfort, and increased intelligence.

To meet these ambitious targets, the design team recognized the need for innovation, stepping beyond traditional standards to integrate advanced technologies. A primary goal was weight reduction.

The CR450 prototype incorporates lightweight materials such as carbon fiber composites and magnesium alloys, alongside refinements in its aerodynamic design. Every adjustment contributes to a more efficient and lightweight train.

These innovations have led to a great reduction in drag and total weight, significantly lowering the energy required for operation while also reducing environmental impact.

Central to the train's performance is its propulsion system, which employs a permanent magnet motor — the first of its kind in commercially operated high-speed trains in China. This motor enhances efficiency by over 3 percent compared to the asynchronous traction motors in the existing CR400 series.

"To achieve a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour, we had to increase the traction power. To further reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency, we also introduced the use of permanent magnet traction motors," Zhao said.

As a leading researcher attending the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee scheduled to start on March 4, Zhao is particularly interested in how artificial intelligence can enhance research efficiency. She said she believes AI will play a transformative role in high-speed rail design, testing, and maintenance, empowering future developments in train systems.

Significant progress made under Kuming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Substantial progress has been made under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, according to a dialogue on collective progress in the implementation of the landmark global action plan aiming at reversing biodiversity loss, in support of the global review, which was held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province on Monday.

The framework, a key outcome of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15), sets out the roadmap to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and establishes the long-term goals for biodiversity conservation, restoration, sustainable use, sharing of the benefits, and implementation guarantee through 2050.

To date, 172 parties have submitted national targets aligned with the framework. An additional 193 million hectares of land have been incorporated into ecosystem restoration plans. Protected land areas have increased by more than 2 percent, and protected marine areas by nearly 3 percent.

The commitments under the framework are being translated into tangible action.

China has elevated biodiversity conservation to a national strategy, shifting its focus from preventing risks and halting losses to systematic restoration.

The country has enacted the world's first legislation named after "ecological environment," setting a precedent for biodiversity protection under the rule of law.

It has comprehensively advanced the development of the national park-based system of protected areas, set up and strictly enforced scientific eco-environmental conservation red lines.

China has downgraded the endangered level of nearly 500 wild species, with populations of more than 300 rare and endangered wildlife species steadily increasing.

"The whole of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is crucial for international biodiversity protection, and China's role in that has been crucial. As we can see here, we're back in Kunming at the Kunming Dialogue and China again taking a leadership role, helping us assess the progress we have made four years into the framework with four years to go," said Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

"There are several initiatives in China at national level, which are pretty impressive, whether we are talking about conservation of species, like for example, elephants in Yunnan, or if we are talking about conservation of forests and expanding the areas of forest. It definitely can put a number of examples for other countries how to treat biodiversity, and how to work together with people and the whole of society to move forward the biodiversity agenda," said Alexander Shestakov, an expert with Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.