China launches prototype train for international travel

China has unveiled a prototype of a high-speed locomotive that can run on any gauge of track, potentially speeding up rail travel across international rail systems.

According to a report from Global Construction Review, the 400km/h engine has “gauge-changing bogies” that could eliminate the present need for trains to stop at a break of gauge or wait while new bogies are fitted.

The train was developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, a division of state-owned CRRC Corporation, the world’s largest maker of rolling stock, which was supported by a US$5.2-billion research grant from the Chinese government.  

The company said its product could operate in temperatures between –50 and 50°C, can use a number of power sources and meet the railway standards of different countries.

The possibility of the train was first suggested by Jia Limin, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University and head of China’s high-speed rail innovation programme in June 2016. Jia told the China Daily newspaper at the time that the train would make its international debut on the 770km Moscow-Kazan high-speed line in Russia.

With the launch of the prototype, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles is open for orders.

The company, based in Jilin province in the extreme northeast of China, makes around 190 electric locomotives a year, as well as 4,000 urban mass transit vehicles and 600 mainline passenger vehicles. It has a turnover of about US$12 billion and has exported to 20 countries.

According to related reports, China State Railway Group will double the length of the nation’s high-speed-rail network to 70,000km by 2035.

As part of the outlined plans, all cities of more than 500,000 people will be linked through the project. China already has the world’s largest network of high-speed rail.