China’s Cutting-edge High-speed Railway Technologies Unveiled in Berlin

By ZHANG YONG & ZHU HUIYUE

China’s Cutting-edge High-speed Railway Technologies Unveiled in Berlin

By ZHANG YONG & ZHU HUIYUE

Foreigners pose for photos beside models of CRRC EMU trains.

TRANSCONTINENTAL express flower delivery, face scanners, a smart-window “magic mirror” that can surf the net at a touch, malleable cars – these and other cutting-edge railway technologies were unveiled last September at the Berlin InnoTrans 2016.

CRRC Corporation Limited (China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation)– the owner of these futuristic innovations – is the global leading light in railway circles. Formed from the merger in 2015 between the state-owned China South Railway and China North Railway, CRRC made its debut at the toplevel trade fair for transport technology in Berlin. The corporation aims to offer people the world over a more convenient, comfortable, and enjoyable travelling experience.

Committed to operating as a multinational global leader, CRRC is more than just a brand-new name. The corporation showcases Chinese wisdom, Chinese de-sign, and Chinese solutions, and is ready and willing to share Chinese experience in today’s Olympic-tier rail industry.

The newly established CRRC is imbued with all the sterling qualities of the former CSR and CNR. The merging of their respective R&D departments and services empowers the corporation to provide safer, higher quality railway products, and to respond more rapidly to travelers’ needs, so giving them greater value, and thus a win-win result.

Last year, CRRC’s RMB 241 billion sales revenue garnered for the corporation the 266th place on the Fortune Global 500 List, and 179th in the BRAND FINANCE Top 500 Global Brands. Both represent acknowledgements of CRRC products, its technology (hard power), and service qualities (soft power).

General Manager of CRRC lnternational Division, Chen Dayong, is interviewed.

Eye-catching models of China’s latest CRRC EMU trains, in Berlin.

The CRRC exhibition zone also acts as a business negotiation platform. Malaysian clients are in discussion with CRRC representatives.

The Birth of Transcontinental Trains

“Beautiful Jasmine” is a well-known Chinese folk song. A romantic young Chinese man might wonder, “How can I send fresh jasmine to my girlfriend in London?” What would your advice be? By air? Today that answer is “passé!”Before long, a China-made high-speed express transcontinental rail service will offer the solution.

Having long focused on providing better services to long-distance travelers, the transcontinental train was one of the concepts CRRC raised at the Berlin InnoTrans fair. The three products it exhibited in this respect were: a highspeed EMU (electric multiple unit) train with a speed of 350 km/h; a transcontinental high-speed train; and a highspeed electric passenger locomotive with a speed of 200 km/h.

Whether to facilitate interconnectivity among the European, Asian, and African continents, or cultural overland tours, the transcontinental train niche will provide optimal transportation solutions for transcontinental travel. Suitable for long-distance passengers, freight conveyance, and transcontinental express deliveries (for overseas online shopping), adaptable to different climates, and compatible with world railway standards, transcontinental trains can help realize world interconnectivity.

A train of such versatility could only have been conceived in China, with its vast lands, diverse topography, and complex climates. The exhibition in effect acted as a global showcase for Chinese experience and design.

Smart-Window “Magic Mirror”

Smart train windows double as touch screens that display all the information a passenger needs. Upon entering a car so equipped, a face scan checks your ticket. Then, at a touch, the train window transforms into your TV, point of contact through which to book a car rental or hotel room, or even portal for surfing online shops… everything you need is literally at your fingertips. Besides, based on big data, the facerecognition technology can help detect any over-exertion the driver may be suffering and so immediately alert him or her.

These high-speed conveyances –called intelligent trains – will transform human travel. The “magic” mirror displays such information as the speed at which the train is traveling, its arrival and departure times, and also enables passengers to watch videos or their favorite TV programs – at the touch of a fngertip.

In the past, passengers’ viewing pleasure was limited to scenery through their train windows, but smart windows enable them to view whatever they choose. A smart seat system also enables a choice of news items, videos, or online shopping.

Behind intelligent trains are several train monitoring systems based on satellite technologies. They provide 3G/4G and satellite signals, as well as Wi-Fi within carriages.

These are double-decker trains, where passengers sit upstairs and freight is stored downstairs, thus optimizing train space. The clipper-built shape is visually stunning, and fully in line with aerodynamic requirements. Transcontinental trains, nicknamed chameleons, can also endure harsh climatic and geographical conditions, and maintain a high speed under all kinds of environmental conditions. The train interior is bright and spacious, and its semi-closed compartments give passengers a more comfortable experience.

VR technology is used to showcase China’s high-speed trains.

Negotiations with an lndian client.

Effcient Automatic Freight System

A highly intelligent automatic freight system transforms the traditional mode of warehousing and transportation in being more environmentally friendly, effcient, and economical. Apart from various railway products, CRRC also offers other freight transport equipment, including a high-power electric locomotive platform for freight, a diesel locomotive platform, as well as tankers, aluminumalloy hopper cars, and large-volume box cars.

Business negotiations.

CRRC has formulated several highpower electric locomotive freight platforms, among which the 6-axis 9600kw, 8-axis 9600kw, and 12-axis 14400kw are widely used in China. A test whereby each of these platforms hauls a 3-ton freight car has been successfully conducted. Besides, many high-power CRRC trucks provide services to railways in the Republic of Belarus, Australia, South Africa, and many other countries.

Despite the large volume of railway freight transport, it has long been hampered by low flexibility. At the Berlin fair, CRRC put forward multiple freight transport schemes which provided various possibilities for tackling this problem. For example, in one such scheme the trains are malleable, that is to say, capable of being slightly bent or folded according to the goods onboard. CRRC displayed this scheme in a video on a 3m x 27.5m giant screen. This green, intelligent, user-friendly railway product won many hearts and minds.

Tailor-made Green Projects for Urban Transportation

Apart from rail products for long-distance travel, CRRC also exhibited at the fair a series of green, low-carbon urban transportation products. They include intercity EMU trains with a speed of 140 to 200 km/h, urban railways with a speed of 80 to 120 km/h, modern tramcars, and low- and medium-speed maglevs.

The tramcar that CRRC exhibited on this occasion is a new railway product with super capacitance as its energy reserving media. CRRC’s 3V 12000F super condenser has a grapheme electrode with an energy density as high as 10.71Wh/kg. It takes within 30 seconds to charge, and so is suitable for online charging systems in the modern energyconserving type 100 percent low-floor tramcar. CRRC’s super-condenser tramcars now operate in Huai’an of Jiangsu Province and Guangzhou of Guangdong Province. Its low-speed magnetic trains, which run in Changsha, Hunan Province, are characterized by a short turning radius, good slope-climbing capacity, high safety performance, low noise, low vibration, comfort, and high adaptability.

In city life, a green, intelligent railway that comprises tramcars, subways, intercity EMUs, and high-speed rail generates happiness by rolling along its steel rails.