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Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 January 2018

07:35

China to build more high-speed railways in five years: white paper

China to build more high-speed railways in five years: white paper

BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- China will build more high-speed railways as part of its efforts to establish a comprehensive transport system during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), according to a white paper issued Thursday by the State Council Information Office.
The white paper, titled Development of China's Transport, said China will increase the length of high-speed railways in service to 30,000 kilometers by 2020, which will link more than 80 percent of its big cities.
The country will renovate 30,000 kilometers of expressways and provide tarmac and cement roads and shuttle bus services for administrative villages with the necessary conditions, while all villages will have access to mail service, it said.
China will build commuting circles of 1 to 2 hours between the central cities and between central and peripheral cities, and one-hour commuting circles between central cities and key peripheral towns.
With priority focused on public transit, China will speed up the development of its urban rail and bus rapid transit, and other means of high-capacity public transport, according to the white paper.
By 2020, intercity railway networks will be completed in several urban agglomerations including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta areas.
The white paper said more efforts will be made in cities with 3 million or more residents to form urban rail transport networks, and about 3,000 kilometers of new tracks will be added to the current urban rail transit system.
China will also move to build integrated transport hubs, promote the green and intelligent development of transport services and improve safety in the transport industry, it said.
The country is aiming to build a comprehensive transport network that spreads from east to west and south to north, construct passageways that extend beyond its borders, and develop sea routes for the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road in the five-year period, said the white paper.

Source:News
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Wednesday, 12 October 2016

07:05

4 Chinese Cos., interested in Kathmandu-Kerung Rail line project

4 Chinese Cos., interested in Kathmandu-Kerung Rail line project

New Delhi: Four Chinese companies have shown interest to conduct feasibility study of Kathmandu-Rasuwagadhi railway network after Nepal sought the northern neighbour’s help to conduct survey and detailed project report (DPR).

Once the proposed railway is constructed, it will establish direct railway connectivity with Chinese railway which is expected to arrive in Kerung, a bordering town of China across Rasuwagadhi, within a few years.

According to the Department of Railway, Sinohydro, China Railway Fist Survey and Design Institute Group, China Engineering Oversees

Group (COVEC) and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) have applied for conducting the survey.

The Chinese proposals follow Nepal’s request to China to provide financial and technical support for the feasibility study and the preparation of the DPR of the proposed Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu and Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini Railway Project. The request was made during former prime minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China in March.

During the visit, it was agreed that the relevant authorities of both sides would exchange ideas and proposals on constructing cross-border railways and rail network in Nepal, and support enterprises to start related preparatory work as soon as possible.

Subsequently, the government had announced through the budget for the current fiscal year that a DPR for Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini Railway would be prepared and construction would be initiated in two years.

According to Ananta Acharya, director general of the Department of Railway, these Chinese companies have submitted the proposals at the department as well as the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.  “There have been discussions on the proposals at the government level,” he said.  “The Prime Minister’s Office has also been inquiring about the latest developments regarding the project.”

Among the applicants, Sinohydro, which is basically involved in the hydropower sector, is also involved in railway development.

It had got the construction contract of constructing a part of Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. It is also the company involved in hydropower development and construction contracts in Nepal.

The COVEC is a fully-funded subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited. According to the Chinese company’ website, COVEC has undertaken and executed more than 1,000 large and medium-sized overseas projects with the total contract value of $5.8 billion and carried out international trade of $1 billion US dollar.

China Railway Fist Survey and Design Institute (CCRC) Group is the company which was also involved in constructing Qinghai-Tibet railway which is expected to extend to Kerung. Besides China, it is also involved in Iraq, Nigeria and Tanzania, according to the company’s website.

The CRCC was solely established by China Railway Construction Corporation in 2007 in Beijing which has now emerged as a mega-size construction corporation.

The business of CRCC covers project contracting, survey design consultation, industrial manufacturing, real estate development, logistics, trade of goods and materials as well as capital operations, according to the company’s website.

With China working to extend railway line from Shigatse to Kerung in a few years, many in Nepal see cross-border railway a possibility, which will not only provide new transport connectivity with the northern neighbour but will also scale up economic ties between the two countries.

With Nepal and China signing transit agreement paving the way for Chinese territory for third-country trade, railway connectivity is a must.

Meanwhile, China CAMC Engineering Company Ltd, which has submitted a feasibility report on Kathmandu-Pokhara electric railway to the government, plans to develop 164.395-kilometre railway, which will have 27 tunnels and 53 bridges. This is the same company which is building a regional international airport in Pokhara.

Source:RailNews



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Tuesday, 30 August 2016

07:43

China To Launch First Driverless Subway Line In 2017

China To Launch First Driverless Subway Line In 2017

BEIJING:  China's first driverless subway line in the capital city Beijing, is expected to start operations at the end of 2017.

Operations on the Yanfang line will be fully automatic, including train departures, door opening and closing, and cleaning.

The trains will only use domestic technology, state-run People's Daily reported today.

China started developing its own fully automatic subway system in 2010 and has mastered the core technologies, the report said.

Beijing subway lines 3, 12, 17, 19 and the new airport line are all under planning and will also operate with completely automated, driverless trains.

It is expected that the total length of fully-automated subway lines in Beijing will reach 300 km by 2020, the report said.

The development and use of domestic operation systems is part of the "Made in China 2025" initiative, which aims to comprehensively upgrade Chinese industry.

The move will also help strengthen China's presence in the global rail transport industry and ensure the security of the country's key infrastructure facilities, it said.

 Source:NDTV
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Sunday, 28 August 2016

06:31

China’s largest train maker launches India ops with Haryana factory

China’s largest train maker launches India ops with Haryana factory
China’s biggest high-speed train and railway equipment maker announced that its first joint venture in India has started operations over the weekend in Haryana, in an indication that Sino-India cooperation in the railways sector was poised to take off.
It is for the first time that the Beijing-based China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) – a mammoth state-owned enterprise (SOE) in China with more than 175,000 employees – was setting up a joint venture in south Asia.
A subsidiary of the company has supplied subway trains for the Rio De Janeiro Olympics.
Its first plant in North America started operations in September 2015 in Massachusetts.
The Sino-India joint venture, expected to manufacture and repair locomotive engines, is being called the CRRC Pioneer (India) Electric Company and has been set up in the Bavo Industrial sector in Haryana, on the New Delhi and Mumbai industrial corridor.
“Total investment is $ 63.4 million and the Chinese side holds 51% of the share,” the CRRC said in a statement.
“It will also provide technology support to India’s rail system, and supply electric transmission systems to oil drilling, wind power generation and mining equipment making in India,” the statement said.
“It is the first time for the company to open a plant in south Asia where one of the world’s most comprehensive rail system spans. CRRC is also the first foreign company to set up assembly line of rail transportation equipment in India after PM Narendra Modi unveiled his ambitious ‘Made in India’ campaign in 2014,” it added.
The Chinese company has been present in the Indian market since 2007, supplying subway trains, engines and other equipment.
It will, however, be the first time that CRRC begins manufacturing in India.
“Given more than 60,000 kilometres of railways in India, it is far from enough to build a single locomotive engine plant in India,” company vice-president Yu Weiping said.
“CRRC will build more plants able to produce trains, locomotive traction systems and other key parts in India,” he added.
CRRC Corporation was formed in 2015 following a merger between China CNR Corporation Limited and CSR Corporation Limited and has since focussed on foreign markets.
In March, the Delhi Metro Rail Corp and CRRC Nanjing signed a Memorandum of Understanding for supply of 19 four-car train sets for the Noida metro.

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Sunday, 7 August 2016

22:22

Tibet-Nepal-India Rail line across the Himalayas is feasible: China

Tibet-Nepal-India Rail line across the Himalayas is feasible: China

“The construction of a railway crossing the Himalayan mountains is now economically and technologically feasible,” Zong Gang, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Department at Beijing University of Technology, told a forum here run by the China Tibetology Research Centre.

New Delhi: A trans-Himalayan railway connecting Tibet with India and Nepal is economically and technically feasible, Chinese officials say even as Beijing looks to make Tibet an economic and cultural hub connecting China with South Asia.

“The construction of a railway crossing the Himalayan mountains is now economically and technologically feasible,” Zong Gang, deputy director of the science and technology department at Beijing University of Technology, told a forum run by the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing.

The Himalayan railway will start from Xigaze, a city in Tibet, run to Gyirong, a land port on the Chinese border, and extend into Nepal. But it will not be a high-speed railway, state-run China Daily quoted Chinese researchers as saying at the forum on Thursday.

China built a railway running for more than 1,100 km to connect the highland region of Tibet with the rest of the country in 2006 and extended it to Xigaze with an additional 250-km rail link connecting the city to Tibetan provincial capital Lhasa.

China now mulls a rail link to both Nepal and Yadong, a Tibetan county close to Sikkim border. Chinese officials say that in future it can be connected to India. The daily on Friday published a map with railway line linking Xigaze with Yadong and Burang, both closer to Indian borders in Sikkim and Uttarakhand, and Gyirong, bordering Nepal.

The altitude at Gyirong port is 2,800 meters above sea level, while the Gyirong mountain pass to Nepal lies at about 1,800 meters, making the railway geographically feasible, Zong said. In contrast, Lhasa, where China has built a railway network, is about 3,700 meters above sea level and the altitude at Xigaze is about 3,800 meters.

The rail line extension between Xigaze and Nepal border was agreed to this year during visit of then Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who signed transit treaty with China in a bid to reduce landlocked Nepal’s dependence on India for supplies. Oli was perceived as being sympathetic to China.

But the fall of the Oli government and the election of Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda as new prime minister has raised anxieties in Beijing over the return of India’s influence in the Himalayan nation and the fate of a number of connectivity projects.

“Once Prachanda takes power, he is bound to rectify Oli’s pro-China tendency when in government and take India’s interests into account, as India is sour about losing its grip on Nepal,” according to an article in the state-run Global Times published on 29 July.

“The fixed agreements between China and the Oli government are unlikely to be changed, or it will deal a heavy blow to bilateral ties, which is too much for the new government to bear,” it said.

 Source:Railnews
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Wednesday, 6 July 2016

07:38

China plans whopping $9b loan for Bangladesh

China plans whopping $9b loan for Bangladesh

Beijing: China plans to provide Bangladesh with a whopping $9 billion low-interest loan to build six rail projects including one close to the Indian border, official media here reported on Tuesday.

Bangladesh wants to use the low-interest loans to build at least six rail projects connecting its capital Dhaka with key domestic industrial areas and the Indian border.

The upgrade was part of $30 billion plan by Bangladesh to modernise its railway system and China is ready to play an active role in this regard, an article in the state-run Global Times said.

China’s reported offer to Bangladesh “attracted a lot of attention following analysts’ suggestion that “Bangladesh has become a focus for the growing geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and New Delhi,” it said.

China’s strategic intentions to extend its trade tentacles across Asia through the promotion of the Belt and Road (Silk Road) initiative are believed to be behind Bangladesh’s enthusiasm for rail, but this is worthy of debate,” it said.

“Cheap financing from China expressly for this purpose is irresistible for Bangladesh. However, India may feel uncomfortable with the increased economic interaction between China and Bangladesh, which to some extent has long been seen as India’s own backyard. But this is not necessarily a bad thing if Bangladesh’s enhanced economic ties with China can put some pressure on New Delhi to pay more attention to strengthening economic cooperation with Dhaka,” it said.

Source:RailNews
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Thursday, 26 May 2016

22:39

China eyeing rail network to Bihar in India through Nepal

China eyeing rail network to Bihar in India through Nepal

A train from Beijing to Bihar? China wants to extend its Nepal rail link to India

Beijing: Having already expanded its influence in Nepal with road and rail links through Tibet, China is looking to stretch its rail network to Bihar.

The move is a bid to improve connectivity with India and South Asia, as reported by state-run Chinese media on Tuesday.

Reports suggest that a cross-border railway link to the Rasuwagadhi area in Nepal has already been discussed by the two countries, with the rail expected to reach the Nepal border by 2020.

This rail line will allow China to have quick access to India as Birgunj, which borders Bihar is only 240 km away from Rasuwagadhi, the article said. For Bihar, trade with China through the rail link will be easier along the route than through Kolkata, saving time, cost and distance, it said.

“The railroad connection to China not only is important for Nepal and Nepalese people’s future development, but also has the capacity to build connectivity with the whole of South Asia. The government of Nepal has the chance to make history,” the article said. Bihar’s Rasuwagadhi border point is a reasonable distance from Kathmandu but the district is a very popular site for tourists, thanks to its pilgrimage routes. As it is not very densely populated, empty land is available.

A cross-border railroad link to the Rasuwagadhi area in Nepal has already been discussed between the two countries.

Key Notes:
  1. China’s railroad is expected to reach Nepal border by 2020, an article in the state-run Global Times said
  2. This rail line makes it possible to connect China to India as the distance from Rasuwagadhi to Birgunj, which borders Bihar is only 240 km.
  3. For Bihar, trade with China through the rail link will be easier along this route than through Kolkata, saving time, cost and distance.
  4. The railroad connection to China is not only important for Nepal and Nepalese people’s future development, but also has the capacity to build connectivity with the whole of South Asia. The government of Nepal has the chance to make history.
  5. It also criticised attempts to block major projects in Nepal
  6. Unfortunately due to oversensitivity, some major projects were aborted before even a brick was laid. So the Nepali government must play a key role in bringing all the stakeholders into a sufficient consensus.

This rail line makes it possible to connect China to India as from Rasuwagadhi to Birgunj, which borders Bihar is only 240 km, the article said.

For Bihar, trade with China through the rail link will be easier along this route than through Kolkata, saving time, cost and distance, it said.

“The railroad connection to China not only is important for Nepal and Nepalese people’s future development, but also has the capacity to build connectivity with the whole of South Asia. The government of Nepal has the chance to make history,” the article said. It also criticised attempts to block major projects in Nepal.

“Challenge is both internal and external stakeholders’ sensitivity about mega infrastructure projects. Unfortunately due to oversensitivity, some major projects were aborted before even a brick was laid. So the Nepali government must play a key role in  bringing all the stakeholders into a sufficient consensus,” it said.

While rail and road links with Nepal were regarded strategic for China to blunt India’s influence in the country, analysts said the development of most expansive infrastructure through the rugged Himalayan mountains is viable only if they get connected to India.

India, China bilateral trade currently hovers around USD 70 billion with over USD 48 billion trade deficit in favour of Beijing.

Early this month, in a strategic move to cut landlocked  Nepal’s dependence on India, China opened a combined road and rail service to Kathmandu through the rugged mountain ranges in Tibet to step up transportation of supplies to the Himalayan country.

An international freight train from Lanzhou, the capital city of northwestern China’s Gansu province has been operationalised.

The train will carry the cargo to Xigaze, the nearest Tibetan town close to Nepal from where the goods will be transported to the Nepal by road. The whole journey will take 10 days.

It includes 2,431 kms of rail transport 564 km of road transport to Geelong Port in Nepal. From there it will take another 160 km of road transport to reach Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Altogether, the combined transport takes 35 days fewer than traditional ocean transport, the report said.

The combined rail and road service has been started as a follow up to Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to Beijing in March during which the two countries signed the landmark transit treaty for Nepal to access supplies from China through the arduous route of Tibet.

Chinese officials said Beijing has also agreed to extend the rail link in Xigaze to Nepal border, which will enable Kathmandu to access growing rail and road infrastructure in Tibet.

The Oli government was keen on opening up new routes with China including access to its port Guangzhou to reduce dependence on India in the aftermath of the blockade along the Indian border imposed by Madhesis in Nepal to express their resentment against the new constitution, analysts say

Source:RailNews
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Monday, 23 May 2016

19:57

China keen on India joining Tibet-Nepal Railway Network

China keen on India joining Tibet-Nepal Railway Network

China is keen that India join the Tibetan rail network, a senior adviser to the Chinese government on Tibetan affairs told a group of visiting journalists at the end of a tour deep into Tibetan territories spread across three provinces.

“According to Chinese and Nepalese Prime Ministers’ discussions, this rail line should link all three sides,” said Zhang Yun, director of the Institute of History Studies at the government-run China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing. He was referring to the discussions between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Nepalese counterpart, K.P. Oli, during the latter’s visit to China in March.

Mr. Zhang said the Chinese side is very proactive in completing the rail link. “On the Nepal side, there is strong support for the link. On the Indian side, there is one group that believes it will help improve bilateral relations. But there is a second group which argues that it will undermine India,” he pointed out.

Mr. Zhang is part of a research team that is advising the Chinese government on Tibetan affairs.

He said the railway network of China, Nepal and India would be connected soon. “It is the only way they can benefit,” he said. “It is our strong will to form synergy between the rail networks of all three countries,” he said.

The modern high-altitude rail network in Tibet that snakes through tunnels and rises to thousands of metres, is not just an engineering marvel, but a determined showpiece of China’s ambitious financial intervention in regions where Tibetans live. Tibetans are a majority in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and have large settlements in a few other provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan.

Two-digit growth

Despite the slowdown in Chinese economy in recent times, the TAR continues to record two-digit growth, thanks significantly to the massive financial intervention from Beijing. According to the Chinese vision, by 2020 no region or ethnic group should be left behind in achieving a per capita of $12,000. “Infrastructure growth will keep progressing. Farmers and herdsmen will get development, not just cities,” Mr. Zhang said, justifying the broad roads and flyovers that link up even remote Tibetan villages.

As part of its aggressive investments in Tibetan regions, China is developing rail networks, roads and airports across the region at high altitudes.

The world’s highest railway station (Tanggula), the highest civilian airport (Daocheng Yading Airport) and some of the finest roads at a few thousand metres altitude are already built across provinces where Tibetans live.

China has a two-front strategy for rail networks to Tibet and within TAR. One is to build a new rail line from TAR to the mainland, which would link Sichuan’s capital Chengdu with Lhasa. This is in addition to the existing Qinghai-Tibet rail link.

Authorities are also adding six more rail lines to the Qinghai-Tibet railway line. One of them, Lhasa to Xigaze (or Shigatse), is closer to Nepal’s border.

Last week, China flagged off its first transport service to Nepal along this line. The freight train departed from Lanzhou in Gansu province for Kathmandu. At Xigaze, the freight will be moved onto trucks.

Mr. Zhang repeated the strident stand on Dalai Lama, saying he should give up the demand for independence.

 Source:RailNews
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Tuesday, 10 May 2016

16:11

Indian Railway signed MoUs with 12 countries on Technical Cooperation in the last 2 years

Indian Railway signed MoUs with 12 countries on Technical Cooperation in the last 2 years

New Delhi: Ministry of Railways have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)/Protocols during the last two years for technical cooperation in the rail sector with the following foreign countries or their Railways : (i) Sweden, (ii) France , (iii) Japan, (iv) Russia (v) United Kingdom (vi) Slovak Republic, (vii) Kazakhstan (viii) Canada, (ix) South Korea, (x) China, (xi) Czech Republic and (xii) Germany. The MoUs /Protocols enable technical visits, exchange of technical experts, reports and documents, training programme, feasibility studies/pilot projects etc.

The ongoing cooperation projects through these MoUs/Protocol are as under:-

(i) China:- (a) High Speed Rail feasibility study for Delhi-Nagpur section, (b) Feasibility study for upgradation of Speeds to 160 kmph on Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysore corridor, (c) Training Programme for Indian Railway Officers on Heavy-haul Technology.

(ii) South Korea: – Feasibility Study for speed raising of Delhi-Mumbai route to 200 km/h.

(iii) Japan: – Mumbai- Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project- Technical and financial assistance

(iv) France: – (a) Technical and Execution Study for upgrading the speed of passenger trains between Delhi-Chandigarh upto 200 kmph (b) renovation/development study of Ludhiana and Ambala railway stations.

(v) Germany: – Feasibility study for High Speed Rail of one route as mutually agreed.
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Wednesday, 30 March 2016

08:00

Feasibility Study on 6 of 9-Semi-High-Speed sections announced in 2014 yet take off

Feasibility Study on 6 of 9-Semi-High-Speed sections announced in 2014 yet take off

New Delhi: Mission Raftaar was one of the seven missions announced by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech this year, but work on six of nine semi-high-speed sections announced in 2014 are yet take off with no money left in the hi ministry’s kitty.

The Delhi-Agra Gatiman Express is awaiting flagging-off after it received the go-ahead from the Commission of Railway Safety.

A feasibility study is being done on the Delhi-Chandigarh section by French railways SNCF, and a Chinese company is expected to submit by April a report on the Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai section.

There has been no progress on the rest of the sections – Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Ahemdabad, Chennai- Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secunderabad.

This when Railways has the expertise, locomotives and coaches to increase the speed up to 160 kmph.“The assessment done by Railways for completing these nine sections pegged the amount at Rs.15,000 crore. We have the knowledge and need no outside expertise to increase the speed but there have been no orders from the top to take up the task.

No funds have been allocated for the projects except these three,” said a ministry source.

Another officer said that the maximum speed the Railways is now able to operate trains at is 130 kmph and that there is only one train – the New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabadi Express – that runs at 150 kmph. “When we are talking of bullet trains of over 300 kmph speed and an investment of nearly 1 lakh crore, we should also focus on an incremental increase in the speed of other trains,” he said.

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Thursday, 17 March 2016

15:37

Chinese New Railway Line in Tibet will damage Environment

Chinese New Railway Line in Tibet will damage Environment

The new railway line to connect Lhasa and Sichuan in southwest China will not only damage the fragile eco-system of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) but has India worried because of its implications for regional security, a leading rights group has said.

The construction of the new line, which will connect Lhasa to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, was confirmed during the ongoing session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC).

The new route has triggered concerns in India because of its proximity to the border.

Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said in a statement that China’s massive investment in infrastructure in Tibet, including railways, airfields and roads, had facilitated an unprecedented tourism boom, expansion of mining Tibet’s resources and China’s “strategic and military objectives”.

It added, “The official confirmation of the new route to Chengdu – described by an official as ‘like the largest rollercoaster in the world’ – and to Kyirong on the border with Nepal was announced at China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing this month and during earlier official meetings in Lhasa.”

The line will run east from Lhasa and be located close to the border with India. Another railway line that opened in 2006 runs from Golmud in Qinghai to Lhasa.

The ICT said the first stage of the new route will run from “Lhasa to Nyingtri (or Kongpo) in TAR”.

“This is close to the sensitive area of Arunachal Pradesh in India, which China claims as part of the PRC, which has created alarm in India with implications for regional security being raised by commentators in India and South Asia,’’ the statement said.

Since the line will traverse an area rich in forests and mineral resources, “it will facilitate further large-scale exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources as well as enabling greater population migration into Tibet, both seasonal in terms of tourists and migrants, and permanent settlers”, the statement added.

The line will go “across a fragile high-altitude landscape that is warming nearly three times as fast as the rest of the earth”.

Chinese Officials said during the NPC that the government will continue to roll out “preferential financial policies to boost economic and social development in Tibet over the next five years”. Development has been the focus in TAR, the officials maintained, dismissing criticism that policies in the region are against the interests of ethnic Tibetans.
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Thursday, 24 December 2015

06:50

China tests Rail-based Long-Range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile capable of hitting US/India

China tests Rail-based Long-Range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile capable of hitting US/India

China this month tested a new rail-car-mounted long-range missile capable of hitting targets in the United States, according to American intelligence agencies monitoring the test.

Chinese developers this month tested a rail car-based launching system for a missile capable of hitting targets in the United States, a development that could make the system even more deadly, according to Potomac Foundation defense expert Philip Karber. “If that missile train hosts the DF-41 ICBM it means it will also have a MIRV potential,” said Karber, whose organization recently identified one of the missile at a special launch site in Taiyuan.

A canister ejection test for a DF-41 missile mounted on a rail launch platform was detected December 5 in western China, defense officials familiar with reports of the test told the Washington Free Beacon.

Beijing has been developing rail-based missile launchers since 1982, according to declassified CIA documents. The most recent test is a significant milestone for Chinese weapon developers, demonstrating that Beijing is moving forward with deploying the DF-41 on rail cars, in addition to road-mobile launchers, officials told the Free Beacon.

Military analysts say the mobile basing of missiles is designed to complicate preemptive attacks on nuclear forces. The train carrying the missiles includes missile launch cars, a command car, and other system support railcars, all disguised as passenger train cars.

“The combination of high-speed mobility, launch cars disguised as civilian passenger trains, tunnel protection and secure reloading of missiles, coupled with multiple warheads, makes the system extremely hard to regulate or verify the number of systems.”

Beijing’s current warhead stockpile is currently estimated to include around 300 warheads.

China is believed to have obtained rail-mobile missile technology from Ukraine, which, during the Soviet era, built the SS-24 rail-based ICBM, according to a report by Georgetown University’s Asian Arms Control Project.

China also is developing an extensive rail and tunnel system in central China for the missile train, according to the report.

Phillip A. Karber, a defense expert who heads the Potomac Foundation, said his organization recently identified a DF-41 at a launch site at Taiyuan.

‘If that missile train hosts the DF-41 ICBM it means it will also have a MIRV potential,’ Karber told the Free Beacon.

‘The combination of high-speed mobility, launch cars disguised as civilian passenger trains, tunnel protection and secure reloading of missiles, coupled with multiple warheads, makes the system extremely hard to regulate or verify the number of systems.’
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Tuesday, 8 December 2015

18:53

Chinese telecoms giant ZTE is planning to bring smart rail solutions to the South African market.

Chinese telecoms giant ZTE is planning to bring smart rail solutions to the South African market.

The plans, which were first announced in July, were confirmed by Yang Jun, ZTE Enterprise Business VP for international sales and marketing, last week in an interview with ITWeb.

According to Jun, ZTE, together with a number of its Chinese partners, will invest billions of rands to modernise SA’s rail infrastructure.

un was in SA attending the Forum on China-Africa Co-Operation (FOCAC) Summit. Established in 2000, FOCAC aims to promote bilateral ties and co-operation between China and Africa through dialogue.

“ZTE and its partners are set to invest in the South African rail system. The bulk of the finance will be provided by different Chinese companies and ZTE will mostly be making its investment in the ICT part of the project,” said Jun.

According to Jun, ZTE has not engaged the South African government on the deal, but it is reaching out through its local partners.

He revealed the company last week signed a contract with EOH to bring smart rail solutions to SA. “We co-operate with many local companies to deliver solutions. We have no intention to engage directly with the government, but we work behind our local partners to get the relationships with the South African government.”

ZTE’s iRail solution features include broadband communication, providing rail systems with broadband communication networks based on LTE for rail, and 100G optic network technologies. It also uses cloud computation architectures as rail transportation information platforms, integrating the existing applications, deploying virtual desktops, unified communication, and new applications.

In October, EOH announced the acquisition of Mehleketo, a local provider of rail automation and technology solutions, for an undisclosed amount. It is one of the top rail signalling and communications engineering and systems integration solutions providers in SA, and has a number of long-term projects as well as maintenance and support contracts with the major operators in the country.

SA has an expansive railway network, but the technology being used in the country is old, dating back maybe 25 years, Jun said.

“The speed of the trains is also very slow, the efficiency is low, and the system experiences a lot of problems. ZTE wants to deliver digital technology in SA’s railways so that they become smart,” he pointed out.

In China, Jun said, most railways have been developed into high-speed railways with speeds of more than 200 kilometres per hour. “We do not want to reach the same speeds in SA, but I think we can reach between 150km to 180km per hour.”

There are a lot of Chinese telecoms companies entering the South African market and Jun said these companies, through the Chinese government’s intervention, are working together in SA as in all the other foreign companies in which they operate. He pointed to China’s Silk Road Initiative as the biggest factor binding these companies in foreign territories.

The Silk Road Initiative is the major project for Chinese president Xi Jinping. On every state visit and within every diplomatic forum, he has promoted his idea of: “One Belt, One Road”. Beijing wants to create China-centred infrastructure networks in order to expand its own economic and political influence in Eurasia and Africa.

“That means we will co-operate with all the Chinese companies that are operating here, even if they are our competitors,” Jun concluded.
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Monday, 7 December 2015

22:16

Feasibility Studies by Railways for High-Speed Rail Lines

Feasibility Studies by Railways for High-Speed Rail Lines: 

MoS (Rlys) gives reply to Parliament Question

7 Dec, 2015  in High Speed Rail / MOSR / Railways in Parliament, Parliament Questions (including reports of various Parliamentary Standing Committees on Railways) by rail
New Delhi:  A joint feasibility study for Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor, co-financed by Indian Railways and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been completed in July 2015.

Ministry of Railways had undertaken/completed pre-feasibility studies on 7 identified corridors. Further, the following corridors have been identified for feasibility studies for high speed rail connectivity to the four major metros and growth centers of the country: (i) Delhi-Mumbai, (ii) Mumbai-Chennai, (iii) Chennai-Kolkata, (iv) Kolkata-Delhi and both diagonals i.e. (v) Delhi-Chennai and (vi) Mumbai-Kolkata routes. Out of these, three studies have been awarded in September, 2015.

No. Corridor                      Consultants 
1    Delhi-Mumbai      M/s. The Third Railway Survey and Design Institute (Lead) Group Corporation- Lahmeyer International (India) Private Limited, India (Consortium)

2 Mumbai-Chennai M/s. SYSTRA (Lead)- RITES-Ernest and Young LLP (Consortium)

3 Kolkata-Delhi    M/s. INECO (Lead)- M/s. TYPSA- Consultants and Technocrats Private Limited (Consortium)

Further, Ministry of Railways have also decided to undertake feasibility study through Government to Government co-operation route for Delhi-Nagpur with assistance of China.

Work on any project can start only after the sanction of project. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail proposal has been submitted to an Empowered Committee on Innovation Collaborations chaired by Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog to suggest the way forward.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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Tuesday, 27 October 2015

21:03

Japan, China firms studied Operation of Bullet Trains in India: Member Electrical

Japan, China firms studied Operation of Bullet Trains in India: Member Electrical

Ooty: Agencies from China and Japan have conducted studies on the scope for operation of bullet trains between Mumbai–Ahmedabad and Chennai–New Delhi, said Navin Tandon, Railway Board Member (Electrical), on Monday.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the two-day long 60th Electrical Standards Committee meeting held at Udhagamandalam that was attended by officials from the 16 zonal railway centres.

In the backdrop of increasing demand for operation of bullet trains, an agency from Japan has studied the scope for operating a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

These trains required separate tracks for travelling at a speed of 250 kmph and the cost of implementing this project is pegged at Rs. 97,000 crore. Similarly, a China-based agency has studied the scope on the Chennai–New Delhi section. He said that serious steps were being taken to increase speed of current trains and also by going in for high speed trains such as bullet trains.

At present, the fastest train is between New Delhi and Agra, which travels at a speed of 150 kmph, and there is a proposal to increase the speed to 160 kmph.
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Friday, 23 October 2015

08:57

Japan offers Loan to India’s $15 billion Bullet Train in edge over China

Japan offers Loan to India’s $15 billion Bullet Train in edge over China

Japan has offered to finance India’s first bullet train, estimated to cost $15 billion, at an interest rate of less than 1 percent, officials said, stealing a march on China, which is bidding for other projects on the world’s fourth-largest network.
Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505-kilometre corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, and concluded it would be technically and financially viable.

The project to build and supply the route will be put out to tender, but offering finance makes Japan the clear front runner.

Last month China won the contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed train between Delhi and Mumbai, a 1,200-km route estimated to cost twice as much. No loan has yet been offered.

Japan’s decision to give virtually free finance for Modi’s pet programme is part of its broader push back against China’s involvement in infrastructure development in South Asia over the past several years. Tokyo’s push in India comes just weeks after it lost out to China on the contract to build Indonesia’s first fast-train link.

Beijing offered $5 billion in loans without asking for guarantees, an Indonesian official said, ending a months-long battle to build the line linking Jakarta with the textile hub of Bandung.

India’s cabinet will take a decision on the Japanese proposal over the next few weeks, an Indian railway official said

“There are several (players) offering the high-speed technology. But technology and funding together, we only have one offer. That is the Japanese,” said A.K.Mital, the Chairman of the Indian Railway Board, which manages the network.

The two projects are part of a ‘Diamond Qaudrilateral’ of high speed trains over 10,000 km of track that India wants to set up connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Japan has offered to meet 80 percent of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project cost, on condition that India buys 30 percent of equipment including the coaches and locomotives from Japanese firms, officials said.

Japan’s International Cooperation Agency, which led the feasibility survey, said the journey time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad would be cut to two hours from seven. The route will require 11 new tunnels including one undersea near Mumbai.

“What complicates the process is Japanese linking funding to use of their technology. There must be tech transfer,” said Mital.

JICA declined to comment on the details of its offer. “The report has already been handed over to India, and the Indian government is now in the process of making a consideration,” a spokeswoman said.

Toshihiro Yamakoshi, counsellor in the economic section of the Japanese embassy, said Japanese companies were keen to collaborate with their Indian counterparts on the rail project as part of Modi’s Make-in-India programme. He said it was too early to provide details of the cooperation.

Tokyo’s push in India comes just weeks after it lost out to China on the contract to build Indonesia’s first fast-train link.

Beijing offered $5 billion in loans without asking for guarantees, an Indonesian official said, ending a months-long battle to build the line linking Jakarta with the textile hub of Bandung.

Japan’s NHK broadcaster quoted Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii as saying that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had instructed him to step up exports of transport systems to India and Southeast Asia.

“It is very regrettable that a high-speed railway project in Indonesia was awarded to China,” he said.

China won the Delhi-Mumbai survey after securing clearance from Indian security agencies long worried about China’s involvement in Indian infrastructure.

The two neighbours fought a war in 1962 over a border dispute that remains unresolved, though trade between them is booming.

India’s cabinet will take a decision on the Japanese proposal over the next few weeks, an Indian railway official said. He said there were lingering concerns about whether the billions of dollars required for high-speed rail might be more usefully spent in modernising the railway system.

“There is a lot of money involved in this. The different departments are weighing the implications. Should we be committing all our resources to a single high-speed line,” the railway official said on condition of anonymity.”

“The railways have not attempted anything as big as this before in terms of costs,” the official said.

India’s rickety state-controlled rail system, which moves 23 million people a day, has a poor safety record and is in desperate need of funds to modernise it.

The average speed of trains is 54km/hour, and rail experts have argued that the priority ought to be to improve the speed and safety on existing trains and routes.
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Monday, 19 October 2015

10:55

China signs its first $5.5 Billion bullet train deal with Indonesia

China signs its first $5.5 Billion bullet train deal with Indonesia

Jakarta: After years of intense lobbying with several countries, including India, in an effort to sell its high-speed rail technology,China has finally bagged its first ever overseas bullet train project signing a $5.5 billion deal with Indonesia.

The two countries inked an agreement inJakarta on Friday to launch a joint venture for a high-speed rail linking the Indonesian capital with Bandung, the capital of West Java “in a breakthrough deal,” state-run Global Times reported.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng said the high-speed rail would be China’s first overseas project entirely using Chinese technology and the largest investment value ever.

“The high-speed railway connecting Jakarta and Bandung has resulted from the agreement of both countries’ leaders upon the need to synergise strategies to attain higher growth,” he said.

The $5.5 billion project to build the 150 km high speed rail will be conducted on a business-to-business basis, in which the Indonesian side controls 60% of the joint venture’s stake, while the Chinese partner controls the remaining 40% share.

China which is a late comer to high speed rail technology after Japan and Germany plans to make it a major high technology growth engine to revive its slowing economy.

Before marketing it abroad China has gone in for a massive expansion of bullet trains. Currently it has 40 rail lines stretching up to 16,000 kms, the world’s largest high speed rail network.

The high speed technology besides its expertise in energy and infrastructure building by Chinese firms is part of its Silk Road initiative to gain high technology exports through lucrative investments abroad, which Chinese officials hope would boost economic growth currently down at about seven per cent.

China is also jostling with Japan to gain bullet train deals in India. It is already conducting feasibility study to build a bullet train on the Chennai-New Delhi corridor.

The Indonesian deal is part of the two countries’ initiatives to materialise the 21st century Maritime Silk Road and “World
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Thursday, 8 October 2015

04:59

National Rail Universities: Internal Report of Railway Board says “not Necessary”

National Rail Universities: Internal Report of Railway Board says “not Necessary”

New Delhi: In what could prove to be a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of setting up four National Rail Universities in India, an internal report of the Railway Board has suggested that such universities are not necessary.

Earlier this year, a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Railways had visited China’s famous railway universities to familiarize themselves with the concept.

Upon their return, they filed a report with the view that in India, a dedicated Railway University would divert vital resources from the core operations of the Railways. Instead, the report recommended, rail research centres can be started in existing universities or railway-related subjects can be introduced in technical institutes of repute. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is yet to take a call on the matter. Modi had last year announced plans to set up four National Rail Universities in the country.

The Railways had even asked EdCIL, a PSU under the Ministry of Human Resource Development that specialises in setting up universities, for advice on how to go about the task. In its communication to the ministry, EdCIL had envisaged a rail university set up under University Grants Commission norms with an estimated student strength of more than 3,000.

China has also communicated its willingness to assist India in setting up of its first railway university, along with collaborating on course structure, curriculum and funding.

Most of the erstwhile rail universities in China are now multi-disciplinary institutions, railway officials said.

Within the Railway Ministry, the subject is considered sensitive because the PM himself has been seeking updates on it ever since the idea was mooted last year.

One question on the mind of policy makers in Rail Bhawan is whether graduating from the university would guarantee a job in the Indian Railways. The ministry, it is learnt, has not received any clear signal on this.

Instead of going full throttle to set up the first university, the Railways has been pushing for tie-ups with existing academic institutes.
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