Economy
China's fastrack to the high speed era
By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-17 17:00
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Saving time but you have to pay more
Taking high speed trains, you could shorten travel time significantly but have to pay a higher ticket price.
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"The price for a high speed train is too high. I may take it if I have something urgent but I also have to take the ticket price into consideration," said Shangguan Zhoudong, a 28-year-old man who has travelled between the two cities many times.
But in some routes, taking a high speed train is much more time-saving. For example, you could cut your travelling time from 6 hours to 2.5 hours in the Zhengzhou-Xi'an High Speed Railway while paying for a 3 times higher ticket price.
Many people have complained the price for a high speed train is sometimes even higher than that of discount airline ticket.
Responding to the public concern, Liu Zhijun, the railway minister, said the price of high speed trains in China is the lowest in the world and taking high speed train is the most economical way of travelling.
In fact, building high speed railway is an expensive project.
"The cost for building ordinary railway is 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) per kilometer while the number for high speed rail is 120-150 million yuan ($17.6 million - $22 million)," professor Li told the China Daily Website.
"Besides, the enterprises that operate railway transportation are not non-profit organizations and have to take the cost into consideration. It is unrealistic to require the price of high speed train tickets the same as that of ordinary trains," he added.
Professor Huang Qiang suggests the authorities offer discounts for railway tickets during slack business seasons.
"The original price of an airline ticket is quite high, but they offer discount, it's quite clever. People may make comparison between the price of high speed trains and the discount ticket price of flights, many of which depart at night and are unwelcome among passengers," Huang said.
Future of High Speed Rail in China
According to the new railway network expansion program unveiled in 2008, China will have 120,000-kilometer-long railway by 2020, of which 16,000 kilometers are dedicated passenger lines where trains could reach a speed of 200km/h and above.
"By 2012, about 12,000-13,000 kilometers long dedicated passenger lines will be put into operation and I believe our transportation capacity could increase dramatically. It will not be so hard to get a railway ticket then as it is now," Professor Li explained.
Professor Huang has an optimistic expectation for China's passenger railway transportation in 2020. He believes since the transportation capacity could satisfy the huge demand then, the current pre-selling system of railway tickets could even be canceled.
"In 2020, taking a train will be like taking a bus. You take the train directly you come to the station," said Huang.
China is not only endeavoring to perfect its domestic rail transportation grid but also has an ambitious plan to cooperate with other countries to connect the Eurasia with high speed railway network.
In early March, Wang Mengshu, a senior consultant on China's domestic high-speed rail project, told Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post that China plans to extend its domestic high speed rails to Central, East and Southeast Asia and is in negotiations with relevant countries.
If the great plan could come true, the newly-built network will connect the current high-speed rail network in Europe, which means passengers will take only two days traveling from London to Beijing, according to British Newspaper the Daily Mail.
Professor Li Heping confirmed such a plan to China Daily Website but emphasized it is just a plan and its realization relies on the cooperation and coordination with many neighboring countries.
"Technically speaking, the plan is totally feasible. (With such a network), many (goods) could be transported via the high speed rail rather then relying on ocean shipping," said Li.
When asked about the problem of some countries' using different rail gauges, the professor answered, "We certainly hope they could change their rail gauge so our trains will not need to change the wheel while crossing the border."
South China Morning Post's report said the construction of this huge rail network could be completed in 2025 at the earliest, if agreements could be reached among all relevant countries.
