China plans rail networks to Asia and Europe

China is planning to construct rail networks that will connect the country to Europe, the UK, Asia and India in the next 10 years. With the planned trains running at 320kph, passengers will only need two days to travel from Beijing to London. Meanwhile, passengers originating from London could travel to Singapore via the Chinese capital in only three days.

Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a lead railway consultant, informed that the country’s goal is to operate trains that run almost as high-speed as planes.

The planned rail expansion will consist of three networks. One would connect the UK capital and Beijing via the Channel Tunnel. The second would include rail networks going to Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, the third network would connect Beijing to Russia, Germany and other European countries.

Wang is hoping that all three networks will be finished within the next decade. Negotiations with 17 countries affected by the project are now underway. If implemented, China’s rail network venture will be considered as history’s largest infrastructure project.

Currently, the construction of the Asian network has already started in Yunnan. Meanwhile, survey works had already been undertaken for the European network.

China is now rapidly expanding its own rail network. The country is projecting to build 30,500 kilometres of tracks and to connect all major Chinese cities by the next five years.

Meanwhile, Harmony Express, the world’s fastest train, was unveiled last 2009 to connect Wuhan with Guangzhou. Running at 400kph, the train uses Siemens and Kawasaki technology.