Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-05-09
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| A test run of the Nanguang high-speed rail in Guangxi, Mar. 19. (File photo/Xinhua) |
Each time
Chinese premier Li Keqiang makes overseas visits, he invariably touts the good
quality, technological skill, mature operations experience, high
cost-performance ratio and good international reputation of China's high-speed
railways.
On May 5, he
reaffirmed the merits of China's high-speed railway before African leaders at
the Conference Center of African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Behind this
high-speed railway pitch is China's plan to go global with its high speed rail,
which was first proposed in 2009.
The first
of the three cross-border high-speed railway plans being constructed or
promoted is the high-speed railway line connecting Europe and Asia, which
starts from London, will pass through Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Kiev, Moscow and
then branch out to Kazakhstan, or Khabarovsk and then enter China's Manzhouli.
The domestic section of this line has already started construction while the
sections outside China are still being negotiated.
The second
line is Central Asia's high speed railway that will start in Urumqi, pass
through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey and conclude in
Germany. The domestic section is being promoted, while the sections outside
China are still being negotiated.
The third
line will be the Pan-Asian high speed rail, which starts in Kunming.
China is
currently digging a mountain in western Yunnan to build a 30 kilometer tunnel
that will pass through Burma, and from Burma one line will go to Thailand and
the other will pass through Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia before arriving in
Singapore.
Wang
Mengshu, a member of the Academy of Engineering and a railway expert, stated
that China was also mulling building a railway to connect China, Russia, Canada
and the United States.
The railway
will depart from northeastern China, pass through Siberia to arrive at the
Bering Strait, then on to Alaska, Canada until it reaches the United States.
Wang
revealed that the line was initially estimated to be around 13, 000 km long. If
completed, Chinese nationals may no longer need to travel to the United States
by air, but could take a train.
Analysts
were of the view that China will face three challenges in attempting to build
international high speed lines in three areas, namely funds, rail operations
and technological hurdles.
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