China's second largest train maker, CNR Corp Ltd, has announced a recall of 54 trains operating on the Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line, siting safety concerns. Specifically, they are likely targeting signal problems, the very malfunction that is said to have caused the Wenzhou train crash. "The recall comes two days after CNR said its subsidiary, Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., had been ordered by the Ministry of Railways to halt delivery of the CRH380BL after signalling faults in the trains' automatic safety systems were found to cause delays." Since 54 trains accounts for more than half the 90 trains running on the line, we can only assume the recall is the true reason behind yesterday's freezing all bullet trains coming out of Shanghai after August 15. more ›

Well, it was bound to happen - something needed to be done while the government figures out the aftermath of the Wenzhou crash, and firing officials, stopping production and suspending approval of future rail lines probably wouldn't be enough. Now there's been a speed decrease says China Daily: "According to the Ministry of Railways, during the initial stages, trains with a top design speed of 350 kilometers per hour will be lowered to 300 km/h, and the trains designed to run up to 250 km/h will operate at 200 km/h. The rails whose speed was previously raised to 200 km/h will be scaled down to 160 km/h. Ticket prices will also be reduced." Is the daredevil in you sad that you won't get to take that five-hour trip to Beijing? Don't be - Shanghai's keeping its speediness: The Beijing-Shanghai line and the Shanghai-Hangzhou line (as well as Beijing-Tianjing) won't be affected. more ›

Four people were killed in a scuffle between rival construction companies in Gansu province last weekend when arguments over a parking dispute escalated to outright violence. After a highway construction company started a fight with a rival railway construction company, the railway construction company set off explosives in revenge against the other crew. Just another good reason never drive or own a vehicle in China. more ›

We found out the official start date of the train last week, and now after lots of vague talk of making tickets cheaper and more competitive with flights, we finally have an idea of the prices! Basically the spread is from 410RMB to 1,750RMB. Here's how those prices break down: more ›

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has announced the cancellation of the Wuhan-Nanjing flight route, beginning summer this year. The route is the first casualty of the onslaught by high-speed railway, which is now rapidly developing across China at breakneck speed. more ›

With just about three months left to the launch of the much-anticipated Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, everybody just wants to know how much those damn tickets will cost. more ›

Via The Transport Politic: "China has embarked on the second largest public works program in history, following only the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System in size. China plans to spend more than $1 trillion on expanding its railway network from 78,000 km today to 110,000 km in 2012 and 120,000 km in 2020. The Interstate Highway System was originally authorized to be 66,000 km long, but has expanded past that goal to 75,000 km today. The two nations are of basically equivalent size, and this means that China, which already has a passenger rail network about the size of our highway system, will be practically doubling its mileage of intercity connections. China’s goal is to reshape its landscape around train services to a similar degree that the Interstates have reshaped the American one." more ›

China has announced that it is aiming to break the high-speed rail world record by next year, less than a week after it set an operating speed record on a test run on the Beijing-Shanghai line (486.1km/h). The current high-speed world record was set at 574.8km/h by France's TGV (Train Grande Vitesses) in April 2007. It wasn't noted where they would do the upstaging, but it may be on the proposed high-speed rail network that would link China to Southeast Asia. more ›

Getting from here to Nanjing could take about as long (or even less time) than getting from Hongqiao to Jinqiao come this July. The "world's fastest railway," which runs at 350kmph begins testing in May, will cut down travel time between the two cities from two-and-a-half hours right now to just 52 minutes. That's fast! Unfortunately, the rise in speed also means a rise in prices: tickets are expected to be 150RMB, compared with 93RMB right now. more ›

All hail the Beijing-Shanghai railway! The bullet train runnin' monstrosity, which will cut the commute between China's two biggest cities down from 10 hours to four, is on the track for completion in 2011 and for operation by 2012. Already, its projected to be one of the busiest and most profitable railways in China... nay, the world! As proof, an official said that a similar high-speed line, the Beijing to Tianjin route, sells out over 70% of its tickets and will recover the cost of building in about 16 years. Besides being able to rub its profitability in Amtrack's face, we couldn't give a hoot about the finances. We're just excited that we'll be able to take by-train day trips to Beijing in the near future. more ›

Those who stayed in the city for the May holiday, did it feel more crowded to you? According to Xinhua, it was - since more than 2.45 million tourists decided to make Shanghai their holiday destination. That's about 20,000 more tourists than last year. Despite the crappy weather, these intrepid travelers trekked out to downtown Puxi, the Pearl Tower and Century Park in droves. Other fun statistics: On May 1, the Shanghai railways handled over 1.27 million passengers, over 2,700 people left from Pudong International Airport on between 7 and 8:30am, and at least 50 people missed their flights because of traffic jams due to road construction. more ›