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China's high-speed trains enter British market

By Qiang Xiaoji (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-02-17 14:06

Britain will rent or purchase high-speed bullet trains produced by the CSR Corporation, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Thursday.

A senior executive of a high-speed bullet train producer told the newspaper that Britain is considering adopting Chinese high-speed technology.

Gao Hucheng, China's international trade representative, who accompanied Vice-Premier Li Keqiang during a recent visit to Europe, disclosed on Jan 12 that British Prime Minister David Cameron showed willingness to cooperate with China in Britain's infrastructure construction and high-speed railway construction. China has a positive attitude toward this.

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CSR will lend a batch of train apparatus to Britain for their high-speed railway reconstruction and discuss new train design plans. A joint venture may be established when the cooperation deepens, the report said.

After breaking the ice in the US market, this is the first time that China's high-speed rail technology has entered the British market. It is also a signal that the British government is gradually loosening its restrictions on importing technology from China, the newspaper said.

The British government plans to construct high-speed railways in the country over the next 15 years and promote high-speed bullet trains with a highest speed of 225 mph (362 kph), the newspaper said.

Britain's planned high-speed train project will require about 120 trains. Purchasing those trains from German and Japanese train producers will cost a total of 4 billion pounds, while renting will cost less than one third of the total price.