The foreign participants were from Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Spain, Finland, Switzerland and the Republic of Korea.

China plans to speed up construction of its railway network and develop rail transportation in big cities, said Wang Defang, secretary general of China Railway Society, at today's opening ceremony.

Rail transportation will provide many business opportunities for businessmen from home and abroad, Wang said.

Various novel technologies, equipment and products of rail transportation were on exhibition, such as application of information and automation technology in urban rail transportation, and the latest development of high speed train and magnetic suspension train.

Experts and businesses were scheduled to discuss advanced technologies and problems that occur in urban rail transportation.

(Xinhua 11/15/2000)