Trains are the most popular mode of transport in China, rivaling even airlines in terms of convenience and price. The railway network covers the entire country except the province of Macau.
Types of passenger trains
Passenger trains in China are divided into two types - high-speed and regular. Traveling to any point in the country is possible on each of them. Conventional trains are similar in type to electric trains (electric trains). A number of models have double-decker carriages, which makes them look like a human anthill.
This type of transport is distinguished by its low cost and less comfortable travel conditions in comparison with high-speed transport. An important difference is also the absence of a smoking ban. Smoking is allowed in the train vestibule. Smoking is prohibited on high-speed trains.
When purchasing tickets, several types of seats are offered (in ascending price):
- Tough places. When purchasing such a ticket, the passenger is not assigned a specific seat, and peasants and students will become fellow travelers in the carriage.
- Soft spots. The passenger is assigned a separate seat, but such carriages can accommodate more than a hundred people, which will create a number of inconveniences during the trip.
- Hard seats in a sleeping car. Travel in a compartment of five people, reserved seat.
- Soft seats in a sleeping car. Involves traveling in a compartment for three people.
Note! An ordinary Chinese train has a low speed, so it is convenient to use for commuter travel.
High-speed trains: schedule, service
The general rule for using railway transport in China is the need to arrive at the station in advance. For high-speed trains, there are spacious waiting rooms with electronic displays that display information about the arrival of the train. Passengers are allowed onto the platform only after the train has arrived. This organization allows you to avoid litter and crowds on the platform. The ticket can be exchanged before boarding for a special magnetic card, which must be kept throughout the trip and presented at the point of arrival. The same rule applies to tickets.
High-speed trains in China are divided according to the level of comfort, cost and technical equipment.
Main types:
- Category G. This includes trains that cannot be overtaken; they reach the highest speed - up to 350 km/h. Such trains make a small number of stops and are designed to cover long distances. For example, from Beijing to Shanghai the journey will take no more than 5 hours. The carriages have only seats (there are no compartments). In terms of cost, this is the most expensive option available.
- Category D class. They reach speeds of up to 250 km/h and make more stops along the way. The routes of these high speed trains include a large number of Chinese settlements, so you should take care of tickets in advance. The carriages have lying and sitting places. The Beijing-Shanghai distance is covered in 8-9 hours.
- Train of category C. The speed is close to steam locomotives. Used for suburban services, less fast than D.
Seats in carriages different types. Second class - a seat in a row of five seats. The first is a wider chair, with four seats in a row. Business class - a wide comfortable seat in a row of three, service - at the European level.
All high-speed trains have a dining car, access to hot water(it's free). During the trip, the guide offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and other snacks. You can buy food in advance in shops located at the station.
Important! Due to well-thought-out aerodynamics and operation on air cushions, high speeds are not felt in the train cabin; there is no pitching or noise.
Route schedule
On the Beijing - Guangzhou route, the train covers a distance of 2298 km in 8 hours. During the daytime there are 5 high-speed trains running in this direction, and at night - 7.
Beijing - Hong Kong train schedule: departures on the route twice a day. Travel time is 8 hours 35 minutes. The train only departs from Shenzhen North Station. Next you will need to transfer to the bus.
The train from Beijing to Qingdao runs twice a day. Travel time is 4 hours 41 minutes.
Trains from Shanghai to Hong Kong run twice a day. Travel time is 20 hours.
You can travel from Beijing to Dalian by train with South station, twice a day, or from Central Station. The duration of the trip will be 5 hours.
There are two trains from Harbin to Beijing - night and day, on daytime the trip will be 7 hours 43 minutes, at night - 16 hours 29 minutes.
Booking and purchasing tickets
Booking tickets by any method (online, agency, etc.) in China is possible no more than 20 days in advance.
Important! When making a reservation, you should take into account the rush that occurs during Chinese holidays for tickets on high-speed trains.
TO national holidays relate:
- Spring Festival, which takes place in January and February.
- May holidays.
- National Day.
- Summer holidays.
You can purchase tickets directly at the railway station, where you can also print an electronic ticket. Provided that the traveler has a Chinese number and a bank account, it is convenient to purchase or book a ticket on the official website of the carrier company. There are numerous booking agencies available to passengers.
National Railway China Highlights has an English version on its official website. When booking online, the 20 day limit does not apply.
Important! A ticket booked on the website can only be collected at the railway station by presenting your passport.
Buying a ticket at the railway ticket office
In Beijing, you can buy a ticket at the station ticket office 12 days before your trip. There is a separate cash desk for foreigners, which allows you to avoid queues.
To purchase tickets at the ticket office on the day of departure, you must arrive at the station 2 hours before the train departs. It is necessary to take into account the possibility of traffic jams during rush hours; the most effective way is to use the metro. There is a window for foreigners in the train stations of large cities. It does not give the right to be served to a guest of the Celestial Empire without a queue, but informs that the cashier is quite competent in communicating with foreigners. In cases of force majeure and a long queue, you can point to this window and go straight to the ticket office for foreigners to speed up the process. The Chinese are quite friendly and will let an unlucky passenger through. Tickets can be purchased at the box office for all destinations.
When purchasing tickets, you will need to present your original passport and the number of the ordered tickets if you booked on the website.
When traveling around China by rail, it is necessary to take into account the cultural characteristics of the local residents and the strict system of organizing the railway system as a whole.
You must arrive at the station in advance on the day of departure; there are special waiting rooms, which, depending on the class (business, economy), are equipped with seating, traffic patterns and train schedules. The entrance to the station building is organized according to the principle of an airport. Passengers pass through the frame, are checked and their passport information is entered into the database. The station buildings have toilets and rooms for free drinking water, including hot ones. When ordering/purchasing a ticket, you may need to indicate the station in the city of arrival/departure, in cases where there are several stations (for example, there are three stations in Hangzhou). After receiving the ticket at the box office, you must check on the spot that all the data and names on it are correct. If an error is discovered, the ticket will be replaced immediately.
After boarding the carriage, the conductor sometimes exchanges the ticket for a plastic card; the reverse exchange takes place before the exit station. Ticket, plastic card - all this must be kept throughout the trip until arrival. You will need a ticket to exit the station building at your final destination.
On the train, the sleeping place is already laid out with clean linen; its cost is included in the fare. In compartment cars there is a "lights out" mode. At 22-00 the conductor turns off the lights, for this reason he will get ready for bed; it is most convenient to get all the necessary things in advance. The new carriages have small lamps above the berth for reading. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the conductor serves food.
The compartment cars are equipped with toilets and separate rooms for 1-2 sinks.
For your information! Some models of cars do not have compartment doors; simple partitions are installed.
Chinese trains of almost all models and classes have standing tickets. When choosing a train and purchasing tickets, you should pay attention to whether there will be such passengers on this train and carriage.
During long trips, standing passengers use all possible surfaces to sit down, which can create inconvenience. Regular trains most often use this class of tickets, but traveling in the company of standing fellow travelers is also possible on high-speed trains. The duration of the trip does not limit the railway company from selling standing places, even on trains that run for more than a day.
Every year, China's railway network expands; its growth rate is many times higher than that of other countries. This type of transport is one of the most popular due to its efficiency and convenience. To purchase tickets, you need to plan your route and select trains in advance so that there are enough seats, but not earlier than 20 days in advance. You can book, buy and pay for tickets at the station, on the railway company’s website and through agencies. Tickets booked on the website are issued only at the station upon presentation of your passport and order number.
High-speed trains travel with a small number of stops and are designed to travel long distances. Conventional trains move at a lower speed; their use is convenient when traveling in suburban directions.
Carrying out olympic games in China in 2007 gave impetus to the development of high-speed rail traffic in the country. a railway line was opened for high-speed trains with a speed of 330 km per hour.
The line connected the capital Beijing and the port Tiajin. And this is not the limit! Benjin and Shanghai are connected by a line for high speed train at a speed of 350 km per hour. To create high-speed movement, technologies from the Japanese company Kawasaki were used. Recently there has been a tendency to use Chinese technologies in this direction. Chinese companies sell their trains to northern and south america. For comparison, high-speed trains in Europe can reach speeds of up to 270 km per hour, while the Japanese bullet train travels at a speed of 234 km per hour.
In 2010, the Chinese high-speed train set a new speed record of 486.1 kilometers per hour.
almost 70 kilometers per hour exceeding the previous achievement, the Chinese reported on Friday
MASS MEDIA. The record was set during a test run of the CRH380A series train at the site
between the cities of Zaozhuang and Benpu on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. New record
significantly exceeded the previous figure of 416.6 kilometers per hour, which the Chinese train
production reached at the end of September this year.
Chinese experts have begun to design a train that will reach speeds in excess of
500 kilometers per hour.
Speed records have so far been set only as part of research tests. At the same time, according to
information from the Ministry of Railways of China, currently the PRC has 337
trains capable of reaching speeds of up to 380 kilometers per hour, which
used to transport passengers.
China has 7.55 thousand kilometers of high-speed railways. Under construction
There are still more than 10 thousand kilometers of high-speed railway tracks.
and Guangzhou. It was built in just four years and is now the longest high-speed line
railway in the world - 1068 km.
Trains on it reach a speed of 350 km/h. So you can get from Wuhan to Guangzhou in no time
in ten hours, as usual, and in only 2 hours 58 minutes. Fare - from 70 to 114
dollars one way. In 2012, about 13,000 km will be in operation in China
high-speed railways (200-350 km/h).
By 2012, high-speed transportation in China will be carried out on 42 railways.
lines, which will give an even greater impetus to economic development. That distance to overcome
which previously took ten hours, now only three. This is a great alternative
road transport with eternal traffic jams and airplanes with the necessary preliminary
registration. Inside, the train is not divided into carriages and presents a single space.
There are no shaking, vibrations or shocks when moving. The trains have soft
anatomical chairs, TVs, drink machines. Hot drinks are also provided
What does it look like? To a giant airport? To the cosmodrome? A still from a movie about the future? No,
guys, this is a Chinese station. Gigantic building. Futuristic architecture. Elevators, escalators,
dozens and hundreds of information boards, marble floors polished to a mirror shine,
live palms, comfortable temperature, perfect cleanliness. There are several here at the same time
thousands of people. But they are all so evenly distributed in a common gigantic space that
there is no feeling of a crowd typical of train stations.
recreation, and playgrounds for children. At the ticket office there is a special window for purchasing tickets.
foreigners. An adult and serious Chinese woman in glasses sells tickets to “laowais” with such a look,
as if they were her students and she was an English teacher.
Regular trains do not arrive at this station. There are high-speed trains here. The point is that now
China is building a giant web of high-speed railways across the country. This web
it already connects dozens of strategic millionaires with each other. And in the coming
for several years it will cover itself in literally the whole country.
Chinese trains are an excellent alternative to two types of transport at once. Firstly,
cars. Previously, to get from one city to another, you had to take a car,
stand in city traffic jams for a long time, take the highway, pay tolls (roads in China
paid), refuel and drive at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour in the vicinity of crazy people
Chinese truck drivers. Now on a high-speed train this can be done in three
times faster and three times cheaper. At the same time, you will spend time in comfortable conditions and not
get tired while driving.
And secondly, it is an alternative to airplanes. Because now from almost any major
cities to another Big City you can not only fly by plane, but also get there by
such a high-speed train. This is often much more convenient. And always cheaper. And it works.
the train is brought onto the platform and it opens its sealed doors, passengers are invited
for landing. The landing system here is the same as at airports. That is why on our own
© AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min // Wuhan depot and some of the fastest trains in the world.
Buying tickets, finding the right exit to the platform, getting from the waiting room to the train - all this
organized so logically and predictably that anyone can figure it out. Even
“laowai.” And even “laowai”, who flew to China for the first time and just now.
Trains arrive on time. And they leave on time. This is a system. A clear and thoughtful matrix.
After the train has arrived, passengers go through automatic gates to one of
platforms, of which there are several dozen. And almost immediately they find themselves inside the train.
walk from the end of the train to the beginning without opening or closing a single door. Soft, comfortable
seats, information boards (where the names of stops, time and speed are displayed),
LCD TVs, sockets for laptops, coolers with hot and cold water...
Such trains are served by specially trained conductors. Cute but strict
Chinese women in blue uniforms. It is to them that you can ask your naive question and get
This is a very serious answer. They don't flirt at work...
Pay attention to this young man in a red vest. This is a railway employee
roads. He delivers lunches. Rice with meat. Chicken with meat. And sweet donuts.
Even though these trains run really fast, you don't feel the speed inside them.
at all. They are very stable. There is no shaking or vibration. And understand how quickly
the train is moving, it is only possible when an oncoming train passes outside the window. Counter
trains over two hundred meters long fly by in less than two seconds. Wherein
the air wave from them hits the windows with such force that you involuntarily shudder every time.
The feeling is pretty cool. The first few times I didn't even understand what it was.
The new generation of trains in China is not “just so it is” and not “we also have it”, and not
"blah blah blah". This is a well-thought-out, convenient and popular project on a federal scale.
Oriented not at the metropolitan elite, but at the people. (By the way, like many things in China).
Despite all its futurism and grandeur, the prices here are not at all high. And on
a businessman from Shanghai in a suit and tie can easily sit in the adjacent seats, and
a rice farmer who returns from the capital to his village. At the same time they
they will definitely talk loudly, discuss the weather, politics, the Dow Jones index,
agricultural fertilizers and a bunch of other things...
China needs to move. Travel quickly, conveniently and affordably. Movement speed
throughout the country - this is very important for the economy and business to continue to develop in the same way
insanely fast. Everyone is interested in this. And the state that “creates conditions.” And "the people and
business” that takes advantage of these conditions. And I generally understand why they are so fast
for construction)
"Do you want us to boo? Inexpensive." I asked Viti when we were planning an autumn trip to China. It was a rhetorical question. I knew that Vitya was never against shushing, especially inexpensively. More specifically, we had to buy a ticket for a high-speed train from to, and I suggested taking a business class ride in order to briefly experience all the delights of Chinese railway luxury.
As I expected, Vitya immediately agreed. Fortunately, such a ticket was not very expensive:
The distance between the two cities is about 400 km, which is a good four hours by car, but the high-speed train covers the distance in about one and a half hours. At the same time, a ticket in second class costs about $25, in first class - $40, and in business class $80! Yes, on Chinese trains business class is considered better than first class, unlike most airlines)!
12. And here is the railway business class seat. There's plenty of legroom and nice red leather (or some similar synthetic material).
13. There are only five seats in the business salon: there are three seats in the first row, and only two in the second. There are pockets in the backs of the seats, although it is absolutely impossible to reach them without standing up.
14. So, let's go!
15. It's time to explore what the railway company pampers its best passengers with. Each of us is given two pairs of slippers! This seems like another attempt to imitate . Perhaps the Japanese love slippers about as much as the Chinese love all sorts of fences and fences.
16. A table is pulled out from the arm of the chair, and a small tablet lies in the pocket at the feet of the seat. It seems like a TV instead.
17. True, it immediately turned out that there was also a TV. Both devices were entirely in Chinese, and I was never able to do anything useful with them. But we must give them credit, they already provided me with about ten minutes of entertainment.
18. It seems like they really are looking like an airline here - at least the conductor is dressed just like flight attendants on airplanes! And the cart also looks like something bought from Boeing. True, they don’t serve alcohol here, so I had to settle for tea.
19. Each passenger in the business lounge was given this box of goodies.
20. Inside are cookies, candies, and other sweets. As for me, they could have chosen something more sophisticated, after all, this is BUSINESS CLASS!
21. The most important quality of any seat in the business is the ability to convert into a completely horizontal bunk. And here, I must note, the Chinese did not disappoint. He pressed a button, and the seat slowly reclines and moves away with a hum.
22. While I was photographing and checking all this, Vitya had already fallen asleep and was having a third dream. Lucky are those who can immediately pass out like that! He slept most of the hour and a half on the road.
23. This door leads to the ordinary part of the train, where the common losers ride. Above it is a board with air speed and temperature. And also an indicator whether the toilet is free. Yes, unfortunately, you have to share the toilet with these plebeians from the first class.
This is the railway business. Of course it's not worth that kind of money. What do you think?
Rail transport in China is one of the priority modes of transport for both short and long distances. The track infrastructure is very developed and of high quality. It took many years and money to build and improve it. The railway from China has connections with transport systems Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, North Korea.
Railway history
In different historical periods, the construction of railways in China was carried out in different ways. In 1876, the first road was laid, connecting Shanghai with Wusong.
In 1881, it was decided to build a ten-kilometer-long road from the Zitang Shanquan area to the Suige settlement. In the period from 1876 to 1911, construction of tracks was carried out in the country, the length of which was 9,100 km. In 1912, the first concept for constructing a railway was proposed. By 1949, the length of the railway in the country reached 26,200 km.
In Old China, construction was carried out at a slow pace, in small quantities and with low quality. The lines were laid mainly along the coast. There were no railways in the southwest and northwest of the country. The routes were divided into sections and controlled by different institutions.
Under New China, the Ministry of Railways appeared, into whose department all railway communications were transferred. A work program for the construction and restoration of highways and bridges was created. China developed, the railway expanded by 1996, and its length reached 64,900 km. Stations were built and restored, production of diesel locomotives, electric locomotives, and passenger cars increased.
By 2013, the length of railway tracks was 103,144 km. As a result of the transformations, the capacity and speed of trains increased. The volume of freight and passenger traffic has increased, and the density of train traffic has increased.
By 2020, the state plans to build more than 120,000 km of tracks. A railway from China is being built towards Khabarovsk. In addition, a project is being developed that will connect the Chinese Southern Xinjiang railway with Kyrgyzstan.
Railway track diagram
Nowadays, China's railway infrastructure is one of the most developed. The length of tracks in the country today is more than 110,000 km. Much attention is paid to the development of railway construction in port areas and to the west, deep into the continental part.
The population in the PRC is unevenly distributed, and the highest density of China's railways is in the southwest and east of the country. To cover the entire territory of the Republic, the network of tracks is being increased and new technologies are being introduced.
Train classification
In China, the train number is indicated by a capital letter and numbers. The letter indicates the train category. The train category is affected by speed, service, and number of stops.
- The “G” type train is super-fast and can reach speeds of up to 350 km/h.
- A type “D” train is high-speed, its speed is more than 200 km/h, and it stops only at main stations along the way. The trains include first and second class carriages, and there are sleeping places.
- The “Z” type train travels non-stop, reaches a speed of 160 km/h, and stops at major stations. As a rule, this is a night train, it consists of reserved seats and compartments.
- Train type "T" is an express train, its speed reaches 140 km/h, stops at big cities and at transport stations. The train has seated, reserved seat and compartment carriages.
- The “K” type train has a speed of 120 km/h and stops in both big cities and towns. It has seated and reserved seat carriages.
- Trains without a letter are No Prefix, these include old trains with very low speeds.
Classes on trains
Cars on Chinese trains can be divided into 4 types (classes).
- A soft sleeper is a two-seater or four-seater compartment.
- The hard sleeper is a compartment with six shelves.
- Soft sitting.
- Hard sitting.
On type “D” trains there is the concept of “first and second class seat”; their difference lies in the comfort of the seats.
High speed trains
In order to continue to develop dynamically, China needs to move quickly and conveniently. The government of the country is doing everything possible to achieve this. One of China's largest infrastructure projects is the construction of a high-speed rail network. It has a wide scope and covers large territory country and is one of the largest in the world. The 2007 Olympics was also the impetus for the construction of such lines.
Most high-speed railways in China are built on overpasses - they take the form of bridges hundreds of kilometers long. The train speed is on average 200 km/h. The length of such routes in China at the end of 2013 was 15,400 km. There are sections of the railway where a train can reach speeds of up to 350 km/h.
In China, there is the following classification of lines by speed:
- Normal (100-120 km/h).
- Medium speed (120-160 km/h).
- High-speed (160-200 km/h).
- High speed (200-400 km/h).
- Ultra-high speed (more than 400 km/h).
High mountain lines
Construction of the high mountain railway in China began in 1984. First, the easy section was developed, and in 2001 they began to develop the difficult section. In the summer of 2006, the highest mountain railway in the world, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, was opened. It connects China with Tibet, its length is 1956 km. A 1,142 km section of the route passes through the mountains. About 550 km of railway track is laid in the high-mountain tundra zone, the highest elevation of the road reaches 5072 meters above sea level.
Passengers do not suffer from symptoms of altitude sickness during the trip, since the carriages are sealed, the air in the carriages is enriched with oxygen, and there is protection from solar radiation.
In the high-mountain tundra zone the train moves at a speed of 100 km/h, on the remaining sections of the route the train moves at a speed of 120 km/h.
The railway from China to Tibet provides stable communication between states. Ease and quick access ensured its popularity not only for residents of these countries, but also for tourists.
Railways on Hainan Island
China's high-speed railways are developed not only on the mainland, but also on the islands. Their construction on Hainan Island is interesting and unique. The railway on this piece of land is a ring, which is conventionally divided into western and eastern half. The length of the ring is 308 km. Its construction in the western part of the island took place during the difficult period of World War II. It was built in parts. The work was finally completed only in 2004. In 2006-2007, it was modernized and now serves trains with a speed of 120-160 km/h. In 2007, the island's railway was connected to the mainland by ferry.
Construction of the line in the eastern part of the island began at the end of 2007, ended in 2010, and in the same year the second part of the ring was put into operation.
Features of Chinese railways
In China, there is a special regime for access to the platform. You can only get to the train when it arrives. At the stations that he passes without stopping, only station employees can be observed.
China has poor transport links with neighboring countries. Despite the fact that there is a through route and functioning infrastructure, the railway from China is closed, and the border has to be crossed on foot.
Buying a train ticket also has its own characteristics. All tickets in China are sold only with identification documents. A guest of the country can only purchase a ticket at the box office. When purchasing through a machine, a Chinese ID card is required.
There is practically no suburban transportation in the country.
Railway stations in cities
Chinese railway stations have a standard architecture and are similar to each other. The only exceptions are old platforms in small villages or cities with a historical past.
New stations are mainly built on the outskirts of populated areas. Existing railway tracks are moved from the center, old buildings are demolished or reconstructed. Chinese train stations can be compared to airports - they are large-scale, equipped with infrastructure and have many levels.
In China it is impossible to get to the train station without a ticket, only to some very limited sectors. But at old stations you can get to the platform before boarding; for this you need to purchase a special ticket at the ticket office. It gives the right to be on the platform, but not to board the train.
Russia-China
The laying of paths in China is historically connected with Russia. In 1897, construction began on the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), which is the southern branch. In the period from 1917 to 1950, as a result of military and political actions, it was transferred to China and ceased to exist. This happened in 1952. Instead, the Chinese Changchun Railway appeared on the world map.
In the near future, the China-Russia railway will gain popularity. A project for a Euro-Asian high-speed transport corridor is being developed that will connect Beijing with Moscow. The routes will pass through the territory of Kazakhstan; travel along them will take two days.
China is gradually emerging as the world's leading railway power. It covers not only its territory with a dense network of highways, but also neighboring countries. In this review we will tell you about Chinese Railways phenomenon, and also about prospects his influence on Russia, because China has already announced plans to build a Beijing-Moscow highway worth $242 billion.
In fact, the news about China's multi-billion dollar investments in the development of the Beijing-Moscow railway route is surprising only to those who do not know about the real current situation affairs in the transport infrastructure of the Celestial Empire. The fact is that over the past two decades, this country has been investing huge amounts of money in the creation of new roads, bridges, interchanges, overpasses, tunnels and other facilities, including those necessary for railway needs. Moreover, it is rail transport that China places the main emphasis in its infrastructure development, because only it allows for fast, high-quality and relatively inexpensive connections different regions a state that is huge in area and population.
China Railways
Statistics say that in Lately In China, more than two thousand kilometers of high-speed railway lines are built annually, along which brand new Chinese trains travel, capable of accelerating up to 500 kilometers per hour. However, real average speed traffic on China's railways is still three times less.
Thanks to this rapid development of the railway network, convenience and speed of travel, as well as relatively low fares with dynamic pricing policies, trains have become the main passenger mode of transport in China.
The development of the railway network also has a positive effect on the growth of the country's already powerful economy. After all, it is freight, and not passenger, transportation that is the main income of the railways of any state, as well as the main logistics of goods and resources.
Realizing the enormous importance of railways and having achieved significant success in their construction and operation on the territory of their country, the Chinese authorities decided several years ago to begin railway expansion to other countries. First and on this moment, the main focus of this activity was Southeast Asia.
China and Southeast Asia
In 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Railways announced the launch of a program to create the Asian Railway, which will unite the railway infrastructure of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore into a single network. The Celestial Empire intends to buy out lines located in these countries in order to then reconstruct them, as well as create many new routes. In total, this promising network will consist of approximately 40 thousand kilometers of new railway lines.
At the same time, the Asian Railway will unite precisely those countries that have been the world's largest producers of consumer goods for the last ten years. And China, through the railway infrastructure, gains control over the production and logistics processes in these states.
But also Southeast Asia China's transport interests are not limited. This country is exploring ideas for a much broader infrastructural expansion to the West and East.
China and America
One of the latest promising railway projects in China is the idea of building a transcontinental high-speed railway from Beijing to Los Angeles.It may seem like a joke, but China is, in fact, seriously thinking about connecting Asia and Asia by rail in the foreseeable future. North America. The 13,000-kilometer line will begin in Beijing, pass through Vladivostok, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, dive into a 200-kilometer tunnel under the Bering Strait, then again cross the land through all of Alaska, the west coast of Canada with Vancouver, and then across the United States of America to Los Angeles. In the future, it could be extended east to New York and south towards South America.
High-speed Chinese trains will be able to cover the distance between Beijing and Los Angeles in just 24 hours. This is quite a lot for passenger transportation, but it is unimaginably fast for transporting goods, and this road will mainly be used as a freight road.
China and Europe
The Chinese authorities are also looking to the West. On November 18, 2014, a freight train consisting of three dozen wagons with Chinese goods left the city of Yiwu in eastern China. Twenty-one days later, he arrived at the final point of his route, Madrid, having covered 13 thousand kilometers and eight countries along the road: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and, in fact, Spain.
Chinese authorities have stated that such freight trains will travel along this route on a regular basis. People are already calling this record-breaking road the “New Silk Road"or "Silk Road of the 21st century".
However, in the previous two paragraphs we're talking about exclusively about freight traffic between China and Western countries. But the Celestial Empire is also hatching plans to create high-speed passenger highways that will connect it with Europe. Several years ago, the Chinese authorities announced that they intended to create a new “Orient Express” in the future, which would connect Beijing and London. This will be the main train of the world, which will finally turn Eurasia, stretched for 15 thousand kilometers from west to east, into a single continent.
China and Russia
But the route to London is a matter of the future. In the meantime, China plans to gain a foothold on its immediate borders. This is evidenced by Beijing's desire to build a high-speed railway line to Moscow.The total length of the road is expected to be about 7 thousand kilometers. It will start in Beijing, pass through northwest China, Kazakhstan and the European part of Russia to Moscow. Trains will cover this route in just 2 days, while current trains cover it in more than 7 days.
By announcing its plans to build a railway to Moscow, China is actually making a statement that it considers Russia one of its main partners, that it believes in the further development of the economy of this state, as well as political and economic ties between the Russian Federation and the PRC.