The world's first 35,000-ton, hook-free group train completed a successful trial run in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday.
It marked the first time that a heavy-haul multi-unit freight train was able to run in coordination relying solely on wireless signals without mechanical hooks.
The crux of the test was to speed up and brake seven units of freight trains each weighing 5,000 tons simultaneously without collision or disconnections by only using China-developed wireless signal smart system rather than traditional mechanical hooks.
The wireless signal system was jointly developed by China Shenhua Energy Company and other institutions.
This successful trail operation means that China could greatly enhance its freight transport capability, and also provide a new Chinese technical solution for the world's rail freight.
China tests world's first 35,000-ton multi-unit hook-free train
Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 2.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025, revised government data showed on Monday, compared with an initially reported 1.8 percent drop.
The revised figure for gross domestic product (GDP) from the Cabinet Office marked the fastest contraction since the third quarter of 2023.
In the three months through September, real GDP, adjusted for inflation, contracted 0.6 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, compared with the preliminary reading of a 0.4 percent decline, data showed.
Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the economy, inched up a revised 0.2 percent in July-September, compared with the initial estimate of 0.1 percent.
Among other key components, the capital expenditure, a barometer of private demand, fell 0.2 percent, lowered from the initial estimate of a 1.0 percent gain.
External demand, or exports minus imports, subtracted 0.2 percentage points from the GDP, unchanged from the preliminary reading.
Japan revises Q3 GDP contraction to 2.3 pct
