At the exhibition, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway project soon to be built in China has become the focus of attention from the world's first-rate railway equipment companies, in addition to Japan's New Trunk Line, Germany's Siemens and France's Alstom have also expressed their keen interest in participation.

The exhibition, under the theme of "acceleration, safety, high-speed and informationization," was the first international railway specialized exhibition ever held in China in the new century. Companies from a dozen or so countries including Germany, France, Japan, the United States and Canada and some 150 domestic firms participated in this grant event.

Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway Ready to Come Out

When will the time be fixed for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway project has become the focus of attention from various parties to the recent railway equipment exhibition.

Actually as early as 1993, relevant state departments had begun to discuss and prove the feasibility of the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. As to why up till now the project has still not established and invitation of bids for it has not yet been launched, an official from the Ministry of Railways present at the exhibition told the reporters, "Construction of the project was originally planned to be started this year, but the reason why it has not yet been determined is that it involves enormous investments." In addition, regarding the heatedly debated question whether rail track or maglev rail should be used for the said railway, the official disclosed, "I think rail track should be used because maglev train has not been formally put into operation in any country."

Xiong Yongjun, head of the science and technology information institute under the Ministry of Railways, takes quite an optimistic attitude toward the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, he said, "this railway, with a broad market prospect, will definitely be profitable." He also expressed the view that as long as the project is started, the advanced equipment and technology it used will definitely give a boost to the overall level of China's railways. Xiong transmitted to the reporters this information: Foreign railway equipment is likely to be purchased for the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.

Japan: Only the New Trunk Line Suits China

Japan has sent out a strong lineup to participate in the recent exhibition. Yasuki Kurasawa told the reporters that it was already the 8th time that Japan came to China to popularize its New Trunk Line technology and experience.

Promoting its New Trunk Line for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway project is the main objective of Japan's present journey to China. Kurasawa said that if the New Trunk Line technology is applied to the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, then it would take only 4 hours and 30 minutes to travel between Beijing and Shanghai.

In the opinion of Kurasawa, "it is a very good idea" for China to build the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, but he thought it was already a bit too late because Japan had long been wanting to participate in this project. According to him, the Japanese side has formed a group composed of four work units, once invitation of bids for the project is launched, Japan will immediately participate in the competition.

Japan's passenger railway transportation is very developed, the New Trunk Line, which has been operating at over 300 km/hr (186 miles/hr) for 39 years without the happening of any accident, has become Japan's pride. For this, Kurasawa told reporters with great self-confidence, "We are greatly confident of the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, we believe only the New Trunk Line can produce the best efficiency in China."

It is reported that Japan will submit to the Chinese side two programs for the construction of the said railway, it is a high-speed train running at 350 km (217 miles) per hour and transporting a fixed number of 1,674 passengers.

Germany: Eager to Know the Exact Time for the Launch of the Project

As the world's first-rate railway equipment manufacturer, Germany, of course, will not give up its interest in the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. A manager of the Siemens Traffic Technology Department said, "Siemens will definitely participate in the project"! Asked about when he will know "he is sure of winning", he shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, "I also want very much to know!"

Indeed, when will China announce the establishment of and invitation of bids for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is a question that foreign railway equipment companies are very much concerned and puzzled. A system engineer with the Siemens Traffic Technology Department said, "We've been talking about the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway for more than five to six years, maybe it is not easy to decide because this project is quite big."

When asked whether Siemens would participate in competition with its maglev rail technology, the engineer answered: this is a matter up to the Chinese Ministry of Railways to decide.

France: Creating the World's Highest Speed

France's Alstom is the world's famous high-speed railway manufacturer. It has been in China for more than 10 years, but substantive cooperation has just begun. A staff member of the Alstom Cooperative Transportation Department told reporters that the carriage used for the Shanghai Mingzhu No.3 Line is a product of Alstom, which has now been delivered to Shanghai.

Alstom boasts advanced subway, train and signal systems in the world. In terms of subway, Alstom enjoys a global 30 percent share, and it will definitely participate in the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed project construction.

Among the high-speed trains in operation in the world, Alstom is the first to have orders for export goods, for example, it has provided Spain and the Republic of Korea with high-speed railway technology. In addition, world records on high-speed train were set by Alstom, the 512 km (318 miles) world record of rail track has so far not been broken since it was created by Alstom in 1990.

Open Rivalry and Veiled Strife among Three Big Companies

At the exhibition, the reporter discovered a very interesting phenomenon: The three large groups of Japan's New Trunk Line, Germany's Siemens and France's Alstom occupied the best positions in the big hall, forming a triangle. It seems that such a pattern happens to coincide with Kurasawa's thesis: Currently, there are only three countries-Japan, Germany and France-- which can recommend railway technology around the world.

A staff member of the Japanese exhibitor said to the reporters, "Japan's New Trunk Line system suits China best, and he asked: since the population of France and Germany is so small, can the trains they make fit in with China?"

But France quickly refuted the viewpoint of the Japanese exhibitor. The general manager of the Alstom Co. retorted, "The density of population has nothing much to do with the model of train, it is the railway network that is connected with the density of population. He gave an example to the reporter. It takes a high-speed train two hours to travel from Paris to Brussels, but only half an hour from Paris to Marseille. That is to say, different trains are arranged in light of different densities of population and different circumstances. Additionally, the length of the carriage can also change, everything depends on the railway network.”

(People’s Daily June 18, 2002)