China opens world's longest high-speed train route, cutting 22-hour journey to 10 hours - Polidicks

[img]http://imgkk.com/i/tf0a.jpg[/img] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20842836[/url] [quote=BBC News][B]China has officially opened the world's longest high-speed rail route, linking the capital Beijing with the southern commercial hub of Guangzhou.[/B] The first bullet train left Beijing on Wednesday morning. Trains will initially travel at 300km/h (187mph), more than halving travel time. A Chinese official has described the route - parts of which were already in operation - as "one of the most technically advanced in the world". The 2,298km route will have 35 stops. They include such major cities as Wuhan and Changsha. The previously 22-hour journey will now take less than 10 hours. The decision was taken to start the passenger service on 26 December to commemorate the birth of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, state media said. China is currently expanding its high-speed rail network across the vast country. But the ambitious project has not been free from controversy. Forty people died last summer in a crash on a rapid train line in eastern Zhejiang province and the entire high-speed scheme has been dogged with reports of corruption.[/quote]

That's awesome. I wish we could have faster trains in the UK sometime soon. My friend that went to South Korea said that train journeys are 10x cheaper and 10x faster than over here.

Watch it fly off the tracks and explode into a mound of rubble and toxic smoke after the aluminum rails painted to look like steel stock warps. Edited: Or a garbage filled concrete bridge collapses.

Germans sold them the technology, it took them a year or two to make their own. Impressive.

Holy shit I'd like to take that train. It'd be awesome.

[QUOTE=barttool;38982094]Holy shit I'd like to take that train. It'd be awesome.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure the inside is the same as the french ones : [img]http://regardsurlaville.canalblog.com/images/tgv_nouvel_interieur_lacroix_01.jpg[/img] Shit's comfy.

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;38982073]Germans sold them the technology, it took them a year or two to make their own. Impressive.[/QUOTE] I'm quite sure it's Germans making the trains for China as well. edit: Oh not the most recent ones.

This really is the future. Being able to travel across China on the railways in mere hours.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38982162]This really is the future. Being able to travel across [B]eastern, more developed [/B]China on the railways in mere hours.[/QUOTE] FTFY

[QUOTE=Prez;38982210]FTFY[/QUOTE] [thumb]http://www.travelchinaguide.com/images/map/railway.jpg[/thumb] Before you complain about the empty patch, go look it up on Google map. Edit: My aunt actually travelled all the way from Beijing to Lhasa, took a day or even more if I'm correct.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38982162]This really is the future. Being able to travel across China on the railways in mere hours.[/QUOTE] And dying in the process [quote]Forty people died last summer in a crash on a rapid train line in eastern Zhejiang province and the entire high-speed scheme has been dogged with reports of corruption.[/quote]

[QUOTE=Thom12255;38982287]And dying in the process[/QUOTE] China: 876.22 billion passenger-km/year, 317 deaths over 20 years. This is one death per 55.3 billion passenger-km. US: 27.26 billion passenger-km/year (both Amtrak and commuter rail), 159 deaths over 20 years. Note the rate is more than twice that of China per capita, let alone per rail passenger. This is one death per 3.4 billion passenger-km. So yeah...

[QUOTE=Cushie;38982057]That's awesome.I wish we could have faster trains in the UK sometime soon. My friend that went to South Korea said that train journeys are 10x cheaper and 10x faster than over here.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't imagine many high speed trains in the UK I mean maybe one running through the middle but it's hardly big enough to warrant half a dozen of them or more.

Per my sister who goes to school in China: The things made in China for the US are the "high quality" goods. Chinese goods made in China suck even more.

[QUOTE=MIPS;38982062]Watch it fly off the tracks and [b]crash into Malaysia[/b] [/QUOTE] ftfy

That's pretty good, can't wait to ride it one day.

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;38982110]I'm pretty sure the inside is the same as the french ones : [img]http://regardsurlaville.canalblog.com/images/tgv_nouvel_interieur_lacroix_01.jpg[/img] Shit's comfy.[/QUOTE] There's a huge, [b]HUGE[/b] difference between Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV, the french HST) and the Bullet trains used here. Here's an example of a Japanese bullet train's interior: [img]http://www.tropicalisland.de/japan/hakone/images/NRT%20Yokohama%20-%20interior%20view%20of%20a%20japanese%20Shinkansen%20bullet%20train%20from%20Tokyo%20Station%20to%20Hakone%203008x2000.jpg[/img] Also the TGV interior you posted is first class, which I know from first hand experience is a fuckton comfier than second class (although you can easily wind away a 6h+ journey in both classes) [QUOTE=iusehax;38982343]I wouldn't imagine many high speed trains in the UK I mean maybe one running through the middle but it's hardly big enough to warrant half a dozen of them or more.[/QUOTE] We do have high speed trains in the UK, the first one (HS1) is the Class 395 Javelin from London to Ashford [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Unit_395008_at_Ebbsfleet_International.JPG/300px-Unit_395008_at_Ebbsfleet_International.JPG[/img] look at its cute little yellow nos- [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdJCA0eQkwI]OH HOLKY FUC[/url]

[QUOTE=MIPS;38982062]Watch it fly off the tracks and explode into a mound of rubble and toxic smoke after the aluminum rails painted to look like steel stock warps. Edited: Or a garbage filled concrete bridge collapses.[/QUOTE] Yeah... Wasn't it in China where the first high speed train they had failed miserably?

For those wondering about the insides... [IMG]http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/angus725/DSC_0093_zpse90209ec.jpg[/IMG]

I really wish the US would invest in trains like this!.. I mean i've been all over Europe and the trains were so convenient!

[QUOTE=NoDachi;38982307]China: 876.22 billion passenger-km/year, 317 deaths over 20 years. This is one death per 55.3 billion passenger-km. US: 27.26 billion passenger-km/year (both Amtrak and commuter rail), 159 deaths over 20 years. Note the rate is more than twice that of China per capita, let alone per rail passenger. This is one death per 3.4 billion passenger-km. So yeah...[/QUOTE] Where'd you get those numbers from? [editline]26th December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Castiel451;38983642]I really wish the US would invest in trains like this!.. I mean i've been all over Europe and the trains were so convenient![/QUOTE] You have to remember that most of mainland Europe could fit inside Texas. Aircraft are both cheaper and faster here in the US. That's not to say there aren't some appropriate routes for railroads, but with the profusion of cars, roadways, and aircraft, it's not really necessary.

[QUOTE=Castiel451;38983642]I really wish the US would invest in trains like this!.. I mean i've been all over Europe and the trains were so convenient![/QUOTE] As the other poster said America's WAY too big in order to make something like this. Not to mention the only way China was able to start doing this was to go all authoritarian on people and force people out of the way. I don't think doing that in America will get good results.

[QUOTE=Angus725;38983618]For those wondering about the insides... [IMG]http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/angus725/DSC_0093_zpse90209ec.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] That's second class. I sat on one of those seats for 8 hours on my way to Shanghai. Lucky me, I was sitting just in front of a stinking malfunctioning toilet that was clogged with shit. [editline]27th December 2012[/editline] And just about 10 meters from me were the people that paid more for their tickets. They get their own closed of compartment with beds. I was jealous a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

[QUOTE=Castiel451;38983642]I really wish the US would invest in trains like this!.. I mean i've been all over Europe and the trains were so convenient![/QUOTE] [i]Capitalist North America simply cannot survive on the idea that there are high-speed rail routes competing with superhighways. Why else do you think ticket prices are so ass and we ripped all our track up in the 60's and 70's?[/i]

[QUOTE=Morcam;38983743]You have to remember that most of mainland Europe could fit inside Texas. Aircraft are both cheaper and faster here in the US.[/QUOTE] What's this silliness [img]http://imgkk.com/i/1trp.png[/img]

[QUOTE=MIPS;38983936]Capitalist North America simply cannot survive on the idea that there are high-speed rail routes competing with superhighways. Why else do you think ticket prices are so ass and we ripped all our track up in the 60's and 70's?[/QUOTE] I can't tell if you are joking... Besides, highways are cheaper to maintain than railroads, and trains just are not very feasible in comparison to air travel for cross country travel. Inside cities, we definitely need more trains and other mass transit though. [editline]26th December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Morcam;38983743]Where'd you get those numbers from? [editline]26th December 2012[/editline] You have to remember that most of mainland Europe could fit inside Texas. Aircraft are both cheaper and faster here in the US. That's not to say there aren't some appropriate routes for railroads, but with the profusion of cars, roadways, and aircraft, it's not really necessary.[/QUOTE] Isn't Texas about the size of Germany? Oops late.

[QUOTE=Morcam;38983743]Where'd you get those numbers from? [editline]26th December 2012[/editline] You have to remember that most of mainland Europe could fit inside Texas. Aircraft are both cheaper and faster here in the US. That's not to say there aren't some appropriate routes for railroads, but with the profusion of cars, roadways, and aircraft, it's not really necessary.[/QUOTE] [img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7xmU7SHisJg/TVLym8da4cI/AAAAAAAABZk/0da3BWPu4cM/s400/US_Europe_Size_Comparison.bmp[/img] We're a wee bit bigger than that, don't you think?

[QUOTE=wraithcat;38984064][IMG]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7xmU7SHisJg/TVLym8da4cI/AAAAAAAABZk/0da3BWPu4cM/s400/US_Europe_Size_Comparison.bmp[/IMG] We're a wee bit bigger than that, don't you think?[/QUOTE] I ignored norway, finland, the UK and Spain. I suppose dropping spain was probably a bad idea. If you take that into account, i'm about a texas off :) Should've said alaska. That's about right.

[QUOTE=Cushie;38982057]That's awesome. I wish we could have faster trains in the UK sometime soon. My friend that went to South Korea said that train journeys are 10x cheaper and 10x faster than over here.[/QUOTE] Be nice to have something like this in the US. Be able to just go on trips to different parts of the states.

[QUOTE=Angus725;38983618]For those wondering about the insides... [IMG]http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/angus725/DSC_0093_zpse90209ec.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] woah there's asians in there