A new era of comfort, speed and efficiency

High-speed rail network is helping to transform Chinese society, Rail industry veteran says

It's a simple test, but Wang Mengshu says watching a glass of water provides a fantastic illustration of the technical prowess that China's ever-growing network of fast-trains is delivering to the world.

The tunnel and railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering encourages anyone taking one of China's newest generations of trains to try it for themselves.

"Fill a glass of water, place it on a table in one of these trains at fullspeed, and it remains still."

Wang adds that China took far less time to achieve this enviable level of stability and smoothness than competitor systems around the world, and the country's ever-growing network of fast-train tracks now sits at the forefront of global rail technology, comfort and efficiency.

Based at Beijing Jiaotong University, where he is also a professor at the Research Center of Tunnel and Underground Engineering, the 74-year-old rail industry veteran says the system is of huge national importance as China takes its place at the world's economic top table.

"It is like another industrial revolution. Any nation that can make full use of high-speed rail can be ahead for decades."

Trains and train travel are in the softly-spoken Wang's blood.

His father worked in the then Railway Department, and Wang grew up alongside the tracks, he says.

"When I was a kid, I attended primary and middle schools affiliated with the department. There is no exaggeration to say that my connection with tunnels and railways started right when I was born."

Wang first studied bridge construction at Southwest Jiaotong University under Mao Yisheng, a preeminent Chinese bridge engineer.

During those studies, he went to the scene of a major accident at one tunnel project in which several died and one of his classmates lost a foot, and the young Wang quickly realized this was not a profession for the faint-hearted.

"When I saw the workers' pain and suffering during that accident, I felt that it was my responsibility to reduce the risks involved in tunnel and railway construction."

After graduating in 1964, he worked on various ground-breaking tunneling projects, including the first Beijing subway line.

About 40 years down the line, he was one of the main designers on the first high-speed rail routes.

As well as the obvious advantages of speed and comfort, the country's high-speed trains have significant advantages over other forms of transport, such as aircraft, cars and normal trains, most notably in terms of energy efficiency, he says.

"Rail transport is often cheaper, as it ultimately uses less energy than other means of transport, including road and air, and of course today that is a great appeal environmentally."

Someone taking a high-speed train consumes the equivalent of about eight kilowatt-hours of electricity after traveling 100 kilometers, he says.

The same person flying on a Boeing 737 would use the equivalent of 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity over the same distance.

"So you see, the development of high-speed rail across the nation has great significance for the future development of China.

"To maintain sustainable development what our government must do is build more railways, and reduce the use of aircraft and buses.

"China is so huge and there is an urgent need for better transport - the high-speed rail network represents a much more energy-efficient alternative."

He offers another stark comparison to illustrate just how much China's rail network could still expand.

"We have 100,000 km of railway in this country, to serve a population of 1.37 billion; yet in the United States there is 272,000 km of track for a population of 300 million people.

"So far, of that total, China has 11,000 km of high-speed track and by 2020 that should be 21,000 km."

That rapid growth should cover every provincial capital and city in the country, bringing with it vast economic benefits.

"The expansion of high-speed rail can bring so much more than just convenience. It has the ability to change people's lives, and as a result I foresee much better dispersal of the population."

"For many people who cannot afford Beijing's skyrocketing property prices, for example, they could even buy an apartment in nearby Hebei province, which is still near enough to commute by high-speed rail."

By using the high-speed network to carry more people, faster and in better comfort, the existing railway network would be freed up to carry more freight traffic, he says.

"With the expansion of high-speed rail, the gap between rich and poor areas can also be reduced.

"It is now a well-known fact that wherever the high-speed train has been built, the region has become more prosperous as it helps boost the creation of new industries and provide more jobs."

Countering the argument of some, that the expansion of high-speed rail has been too expensive and that the money should have been spent expanding the capacity and speed of existing lines, Wang adds: "Given the speed with which the network is being built, the economic benefits will very soon outweigh the development costs."

He estimates, for instance, that the construction cost of the hugely popular Beijing-Shanghai line will be paid for in 12 to 15 years.

"There is no better example around the world that China can follow in terms of high-speed rail construction. Our own high-speed network is already the longest, and the technology we use is the best."

He cites the example of the rigid requirements for materials being used to withstand the huge variations in temperature across the country.

He adds that readings on that Beijing-Shanghai route, for instance, can change as dramatically as 10 C during a journey.

"Many tunnels had to be built on that line too, and that was a major challenge for our engineers."

But he admits that a shortage of qualified staff has caused some problems.

"It can be hard to find enough capable engineers to keep up with the pace of the network's development."

But like everything worth doing in life, he says, "there was no gain without pain" and he remains fully confident that any future challenges will be met.

"Our achievements so far would have been unimaginable even 10 years ago."

"Based on current projections for the system, China's high-speed railway network will be by far the world's biggest within the next decade."

huhaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn