New high-speed trains on drawing board

Companies submitted design proposals for a new generation of bullet train to China Railway Corp at a meeting in Shanghai on Wednesday.

Classed in the existing "Fuxing" family of trains, the new model will be developed to stringent Chinese railway standards and technologies. It will travel 250 kilometers per hour. Fuxing translates as "rejuvenation".

CRC, the State-owned rail operator, said the new models will be developed for various environments and will feature lower manufacturing and operating costs and improved energy efficiency. Trains in the Fuxing family use less energy, produce less noise and have a longer service life than those in the "Harmony" family currently in service, it said.