Chinese engineers had celebration On Friday after creating a new world record for the fastest unchanged passenger train speed of 302mph.
A Chinese passenger train speed through a soon-to-be opened set of rails between Beijing and Shanghai, hitting 486 kilometers per hour (302 miles per hour) and breaking the world record in the process.
From a standing start, the Chinese-built locomotive reached the top speed in just 22 minutes, and when it starts operating next year, it will reduce journey time between the two cities from 10 hours to 4 hours.
Xinhua News reported that it was the fastest speed an unmodified commercial passenger train had ever traveled. Other types of trains, though, have traveled faster.
A Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 581 kilometers per hour in 2003, while TGV, modified French train reached 574.8 kilometers per hour during a 2007 test.
The route will open 12 months ahead of schedule and is part of the country's massive $313.5 billion program to create the worlds most advanced and extensive railway system by 2020.
The line is expected to carry 80 million passengers a year, double the current capacity on the 818-mile route.
China already has the world’s longest high-speed rail network by kilometers, and it plans to cover 13,000 kilometers by 2012 and 16,000 kilometers by 2020.
A Chinese passenger train speed through a soon-to-be opened set of rails between Beijing and Shanghai, hitting 486 kilometers per hour (302 miles per hour) and breaking the world record in the process.
From a standing start, the Chinese-built locomotive reached the top speed in just 22 minutes, and when it starts operating next year, it will reduce journey time between the two cities from 10 hours to 4 hours.
Xinhua News reported that it was the fastest speed an unmodified commercial passenger train had ever traveled. Other types of trains, though, have traveled faster.
A Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 581 kilometers per hour in 2003, while TGV, modified French train reached 574.8 kilometers per hour during a 2007 test.
The route will open 12 months ahead of schedule and is part of the country's massive $313.5 billion program to create the worlds most advanced and extensive railway system by 2020.
The line is expected to carry 80 million passengers a year, double the current capacity on the 818-mile route.
China already has the world’s longest high-speed rail network by kilometers, and it plans to cover 13,000 kilometers by 2012 and 16,000 kilometers by 2020.
