Upon invitation of the Ministry of Railways, the Chinese Academy of Engineering organized a survey tour on the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Rail from November 29 to 30, 2012. The event was attended by a total of 28 CAE Members from the Division of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, the Division of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, the Division of Civil, Hydraulic and Architecture Engineering, the Division of Environment & Light and Textile Industries Engineering, the Division of Medical and Health Care as well as the Division of Engineering Management respectively. Participating CAE Members conducted field studies on the Beijing to Wuhan section of the High-Speed Rail, and also attended a seminar right after the tour.

On November 29th, the team took the CRH380AL EMU at the Beijing West Railway Station, who then inspected the Zhengzhou East Station Building and the signal monitoring system. Afterwards, they went to the Maintenance Base in Wuhan for a field trip. Officials from the Ministry of Railways also briefed CAE Members on the EMU technology, communication signal technology, signal control system technology as well as safety and risk control technology adopted by the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Train. 

On the next day, a seminar centered on the inspection trip made on the previous day was held in Beijing. Officials with the Division of Science and Technology, the Identification Center as well as the Transportation Department of the Ministry of Railways briefed the participants on the development of high speed rails in China. CAE Members and experts made comments based on the field trip. Zhou Ji, President of CAE, Sheng Guangzu, Minister of Railways, and Lu Chunfang, Vice Minister of Railways, made speeches at the seminar.

In recent years, China has been vigorously promoting the construction of high-speed railways and has made remarkable achievements. At present, China has become the world’s fastest growing country in terms of high-speed railways, with the largest scale as well. It is safe to say that the overall technology level of high-speed railways in China has become truly advanced in the world. CAE Members sang high praise for great achievements made after China started developing its high-speed railways vigorously, who also showed great respect for those who have selflessly engaged in this great cause and made tremendous dedication. 

President Zhou, together with some other CAE Members, also put forward suggestions for the development of railway construction in china. They hoped that the Ministry of Railways should take the initiative to formulate technical standards for high-speed rails. Also, information technology in the construction, management and operation of high-speed rails should be further strengthened. Besides, more efforts should be made to further beautify and green both sides of high-speed railways. Finally, we should accelerate the construction of enterprise technology innovation system, promote the establishment of innovation alliances, boost the combination of science and technology and economy as well as enhance the innovation capabilities.

According to the Ministry of Railways, the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Rail covers about 2200 kilometers, and the designed speed could reach 350 kilometers per hour, with the initial operating speed being 300 kilometers per hour. By the end of 2012, the operating mileage of China’s newly built high-speed railways could reach over 9300 kilometers, ranking the first in the world. (By Li Qingshan, December 2012; translated by Liu Chang)