Experts say immature technology used on some parts of the CRH 5 bullet train may be the cause of its frequent breakdown.

The motor coach train, along with CRH 1 and CRH 2, was newly put to service after the country launched the sixth railway speed upgrade last month.

On Sunday morning, bullet train D26 arrived at Beijing Railway Station at 4:30 am, 4 hours and 52 minutes behind schedule.

Having departed from Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang province, headed for Beijing, the train broke down in Siping, a city southwest of Changchun, capital of Jilin province.

The bullet train came to a halt and the air-conditioning system broke down. Passengers underwent a period of suffocating heat in the sealed carriage as windows failed to be opened in time.

After arrival, each passenger got a compensation varying between 200 to 250 yuan for the "poor service" they received on this first-class train.

This was the third breakdown along the Beijing-Changchun-Harbin line to have happened in a month. The Bullet trains running on this line are all CRH 5 trains.

Experts attribute the low reliability of the bullet train to the cutting-edge technology used on some parts on the train and the relatively short trial runs.

To suit the reality of Chinese railways, some adjustments on the shape and capacity of the train were made when the CRH 5 was introduced. These differences have been blamed for the train's breakdowns.

Among the three types of new bullet trains-CRH 1, CRH 2, and CRH 5, CRH 5 only started its trial run in February, due to late delivery. It therefore enjoyed the shortest trial run.

(CRIENGLISH.com May 14, 2007)