China's fastest train aims to speed at 575 km/hr!

Aiming to break the 574.8 km/hour speed record set by France, China has signed agreements with Thailand and Laos to build high-speed railways.

On December 3, a high-speed passenger train manufactured by CSR Corporation hit a record speed of 486.1 km/hour on a test run on the Beijing-Shanghai line.

Chinese railway officials said the CRH380A is designed to operate at a cruising speed of 380 kph, is the fastest train in operation in the world.

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China is now developing a super high-speed train that can run at 600 km/hour.

An experimental train - under development will "try to break the 574.8-km/hour record" set by France's TGV (Train Grande Vitesse, or high-speed train) in April 2007, official media here reported.

China also has the world's longest high-speed railway network, which totals 7,531 km. Chinese railway officials say the country plans to expand the system to 16,000 km by 2020.

The fastest train, CRH380 developed by CSR Qingdao Sifang is called 'Harmony'.

The Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed rail opened on October 26 this year selected CRH380. In the previous test run, it had reached the world's highest hourly speed of 416.6 kilometres.

The 380km/h new-generation high-speed EMU's maximum running speed approaches the airplane's low-speed cruising speed, and thus the high-speed train's new locomotive shape design is faced with extremely complex pneumatic environment.

This high-speed train's appearance design is more challenging compared to an airplane.

As China's high-speed trains are running faster, its ambition to tap the world's high-speed railway market is also speeding. China has signed agreements with Thailand and Laos to build high-speed railways connecting it with the two Southeast Asian countries.

Thailand's deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said during the seventh World Congress on High Speed Rail, being held here, that China is cooperating on high-speed railways with the countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Suthep said Thailand's parliament has approved the project and the two countries have signed the framework agreement.

Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Somsavat Lengsavad told the Congress that based on the agreement with China the high-speed railway linking its capital Vientiane with Beijing will begin construction in 2011 and be completed in 2015.

Bilateral trade between China and Laos grew by more than half in 2009 to $751.8 million.

Laos is already connected to Thailand by rail, though only up to just outside Vientiane. Both Suthep and Somsavat hoped the high-speed railways will be built as soon as possible to boost the two nations' economic ties with China. <

Meanwhile, Chinese high-speed train manufacturers are attracting more multinationals to cash in on the fast-growing market.