New double-decker bullet train expected to reach speed of 350 km/h

A model of China's future double-decker bullet train was unveiled by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Monday, with experts predicting it could reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour.

Zhang Weihua, a bullet train expert who is also a professor at Southwest Jiaotong University, told Science and Technology Daily that the double-decker bullet train will be able to run at the same top speed as a fast single-deck train.

But a critical problem that needs to be solved is that it may lose stability due to centrifugal forces when cornering at high speeds.  

Zhang said he believed that once design and technical problems such as the train's high center of gravity and large passenger capacity are solved, the safety will be fine as long as the train operates at appropriate speeds.  

Germany and France have advocated the use of double-decker technology in the next generation of high-speed trains, he said, with the goal of improving passenger capacity and economic efficiency.  

China's double-decker bullet train, which is targeting the international market, would have a base speed of 160 km/h, Zhang said, but when fitted with core components designed according to the current standards for high-speed trains will be capable of much higher speeds.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.