Can high-speed rail deliver?

The high-speed train to Shanghai pulls out of Beijing South Railway Station and slips through the city like a tiger ready to pounce. Once it reaches the city limits it flexes and launches down the…

Unanswered questions over rail dispatch system

BEIJING – Insiders have questioned why the rail dispatch system failed to prevent the rear-end collision between two bullet trains on Saturday in Wenzhou. The first bullet train was traveling south from the Zhejiang provincial…

China launches 2-month train safety campaign

BEIJING – China’s rail minister has ordered a two-month safety check on railway operations and apologised for Saturday’s deadly train crash that killed 39 people, a report on People.com.cn said on Tuesday. Sheng Guangzu, Minister of…

No fast-track ticket for migrant workers

The debate about China’s high-speed railways seems never ending. After the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway started passenger services on June 30, the Ministry of Railways canceled some ordinary trains and there were more complaints about the…

Power failure halts high-speed railway

Netizens report experience on micro blogs. BEIJING / SHANGHAI – Thunderstorms caused a power failure on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway on Sunday, paralyzing southbound trains for 90 minutes, railway authorities said. It was the first…

High-speed rail might hurt airline business

The new Beijing-Shanghai high-speed trains might lead to a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in airline passengers on that route, China Business News (CBN) reported Monday, citing an aviation industry insider.  “When the Beijing-Shanghai…