Growth of Fast Trains in China

According to The New York Times, the 664 mile, 11 hour journey from Guangzhou to Wuhan, China  can now be made in a little under three hours.

The line from Guangzhou to Wuhan is only one of 42 high-speed lines, which are either already operational or set to open by 2012. The United States has quickly fallen behind the whirlwind pace set by Asia and Europe. America’s first high speed line—an 84-mile stretch connecting Tampa and Orlando—is not set to open until 2014. U.S. President Barack Obama voiced his concern stating, “Other countries aren’t waiting. They want those jobs. China wants those jobs. Germany wants those jobs. They are going after them hard, making the investments required.”

Obama’s fear is a reasonable one. The development of clean and energy efficient transportation promises to boost China’s already competitive economy. The network of super fast trains will connect an area similar to the size of the U.S.. The new train system will provide a huge export industry of new technology that could catapult China into the forefront of the fast-train industry.

Behind the seemingly innumerable benefits of the fast-trains looms a massive price tag. Because of the 2008 financial crisis, factories faced the threat of immense layoffs. In response to the financial threat, the Chinese government poured more than $100 billion in stimulus funds into the project in an effort to complete the train system by 2012. Administrators also organized 110,000 workers just for the route from Beijing to Shanghai. A one way, economy class ticket for a trip from Guangzhou to Wuhan costs $72, $50 more than the regular train, which takes 11 hours. $72 is equivalent to one to three weeks’ pay for an assembly line worker.

China is anticipating that come 2012, there will be 42 lines of bullet passenger trains traveling at world record average speeds of 215 miles per hour. The expected top speed for the train traveling between Tampa and Orlando will be 168 miles per hour.

Over the past several weeks, Chinese officials have implied that they may slow the stimulus spending. If the stimulus spending does slow, China runs the risk of not finishing all 42 routes until 2013 or even 2014. A number of transportation experts are worried that China has over invested in bullet trains that could require operating subsidies like those used to maintain highway systems.

A mammoth new train station was finished on Jan. 30 on the outskirts of Guangzhou, in order to support the influx of high-speed traffic flow into and out of the city. The new stations made for the futuristic trains have been constructed in industrial districts in order to avoid the bulldozing for entire urban neighborhoods. Subways and rail lines to the stations are still under construction, so the passengers currently take 40-minute bus rides from the city center to the station.

Airlines are beginning to lose customers to the bullet trains, which travel faster than a commercial jet at takeoff. The trains require extremely flat land to safely cruise at high speeds. Due to escalating tax revenues, a national savings rate of 40 percent, and workers who earn a meager $100 a month, China has made the construction of the groundbreaking high-speed train an affordable project. Even with low cost labor, the “tunnel filled” line from Wuhan to Guangzhou cost $17 billion to construct.

China’s massive labyrinth of bullet train lines may become the new standard for high-speed rail travel in the U.S. and Europe.