China has made remarkable advancements in high-speed rail construction during its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), driven by continuous technological innovation that has established the country as an international benchmark in this field.
Over the past five years, China has seen numerous technological achievements, notably represented by the bullet trains "Fuxing Hao" -- state-of-the-art locomotives capable of 350 kilometers per hour.
China also established a comprehensive high-speed rail technology system, encompassing engineering construction, equipment manufacturing, and operational management during the period.
"The prototype of China's high-speed train model CR450 was unveiled at the end of 2024, boasting internationally leading performance in key indicators such as operating speed, energy consumption, interior noise, and braking distance. During trials, two CR450 trains passing each other achieved a staggering combined relative speed of 896 km/h, the highest ever recorded for high-speed rail, which further solidified China's advantage in this field," said Li Yongheng, director of the equipment technology division of the sci-tech information department of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd (China Railway).
Known as the world's fastest high-speed train, the CR450 has reached 450 kilometers per hour in tests and 400 kilometers per hour in operation, according to China Railway.
Prototypes of the latest model in the Fuxing bullet train series were unveiled in Beijing on Dec 29, 2024.
The railway authorities in China have been accelerating the standardization of Chinese railway technology.
The China Railway Group has developed 1,219 enterprise technology standards, forming a systematic, advanced, and applicable technical standard system for Chinese railways.
"China has led over 300 international standard-setting and revision projects with organizations such as International Union of Railways (UIC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). All 13 international system-level standards in the high-speed rail sector established by UIC have been presided over by Chinese railway authorities, which enhanced China's international influence and voice," said Huo Baoshi, director of the technical standards and supervision division of the sci-tech information department of China Railway.
Over the past five years, China also contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to the sustainable, healthy development of high-speed rail globally.
"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, a flagship cooperation project between Indonesia and China under the Belt and Road Initiative, was opened to traffic. The travel time between Jakarta and Bandung was shortened from more than three hours to 46 minutes, and more than 12 million trips have been handled on the route. The project fostered a 'same-city effect' and accelerated the formation of the Jakarta-Bandung economic corridor," said Li Cong, director of the overseas projects division of the International Department of China Railway.
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, locally known as Whoosh, was officially put into commercial operation on Oct. 17, 2023, and is the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The Serbia section of the landmark regional Hungary-Serbia high-speed railway project was opened on Oct. 3 this year, facilitating the integration of Chinese railway technology with European railway interoperability standards.
The Serbian section was built by China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), with a designed speed of 200 km/h.
The Chinese railway ticketing system has been adapted to meet the needs of overseas projects, successfully applied to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, the China-Laos Railway -- another flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative -- and the Hungary-Serbia high-speed railway, thereby enhancing ticket-purchasing experience for local populations.
China's high-speed rail technology sets global benchmark in past five years
