China plans 'smart trains' to take on global rail companies

Rakes of high-speed train CRH380A lined up at Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Because most countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, especially Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and East Europe are planning to build high-speed rail lines or upgrade their existing railway systems, they are keen to acquire technological support from China to assist in the daily operations, maintenance, staff training and other services," said Zhou Qinghe, president of CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co, a CRRC subsidiary based in Zhuzhou, Central China's Hunan province.

A Chinese consortium led by Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corp was also chosen to conduct the feasibility study on a planned New Delhi-Mumbai rail project, a big step forward to the development of the Indian rail market.

Another high-speed rail project in India, to connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad, both provincial capitals in the western region, was awarded in December to Japan, which had lost out to China in the race for the Indonesia project.

China will support rail equipment makers in widening their global services and production networks in other regional markets during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, according to the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday.

China exported railway equipment worth 21 billion yuan ($3.23 billion) between January and October last year, up 36 percent year-on-year, according to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

"Widening the international sales network and manufacturing bases in overseas markets can help Chinese rail equipment, infrastructure and service providers enhance their localization abilities, as well as gaining political and public support through local employment," said Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce.

Domestically, China had constructed more than 19,210 kilometers of high-speed railway network throughout the country by the end of 2015, building a solid foundation for an industry that can generate new market growth points during the nation's 13th Five-Year Plan period.