China Bullet Train is the fastest in the world. With the new line from Beijing to Shanghai, China now has more than 91,000 km of railway lines
China has been investing in its railway system since the communist party has risen into power in 1949. Yet, its investment has been somewhat slow until the early 1990′s, when it decided to take railway one step further than any other country in the world. Prior to 1950, there were only 21,800 km of railway lines. The railway network has since been expanded to 91,000 km In 2010 - more than four times what it was in 1950. Yet, it is not the length of the track that is turning China into the most powerful rail nation in the world -- it is the speed of the trains.
Since the early 1990′s, China has been initiating the construction of its Bullet Train railway network. Today, China has the world’s longest HSR network with approximately 8,358 km of routes in service as of January 2011, including 2,197 km of rail lines with top speeds of 350 km/h. The Bullet trains have transported 600 million passengers since their introduction on April 18th, 2007, with average daily ridership of 237,000 in 2007, 349,000 in 2008, 492,000 in 2009, and 796,000 in 2010.
China Bullet Train
China bullet train network has the fastest trains in the world.
China’s Bullet Train rail lines consist of upgraded conventional rail lines, newly-built high-speed passenger designated lines (PDLs), and the world’s first high-speed commercial magnetic levitation (maglev) line. With generous funding from the Chinese government’s economic stimulus program that was issued after the economic crisis in 2008, 17,000 km of high-speed lines are now under construction. The entire HSR network will reach 13,073 km by the end of 2011 and 25,000 km by the end of 2015.
China is the first and only country to have commercial train service on conventional rail lines that can reach 350 km/h (217 mph). Notable examples of HSR lines include:
China’s initial Bullet Trains were imported or built under technology transfer agreements with foreign train-makers including Siemens, Bombardier and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The Beijing–Shanghai Bullet Train Railway, set to open in June 2011, will use the new CRH380 train sets, which can reach a top operational speed of 380 km/h (236 mph); The train will cut the 1,280 km travel time from ten hours to less than five hours!
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Lior Paritzky is the Editor in Chief and Manager of Laowaiblog, an internet platform that provides opinion and views about social phenomena in modern China. Look for Lior on Twitter: Liorpari 
I’ve taken the train from Beijing to Tianjin. It takes 30 minutes, and the ride is so smooth that you don’t even feel it.
It is light years away from anything that the U.S has ever done in terms of trains
You’re right James, but still there is no comparison to the safety regulations we have here! I would be scared to take a train in China…
The train from Shanghai to Beijing is opening this month, and it was announced today that the price will be cheaper than 86 dollars (US) for the 5 hour trip. It is amazing considering we are talking about 1000 Kilometers!!
Not so fast Leslie, there was a train accident this week in eastern China. I wouldn’t be so hasty to use any of China bullet train railway lines until I know it’s 100% safe
The train is opening soon! Can’t wait to try it. It should be crazy – China is really stepping it up with this technology, showing the west what it can do
It is without a doubt that China is the new bullet train empire. 91,000 KM!!! ARE YOU GETTING THIS??
China Bullet Train Empire. That almost seems to far-fetched to be true. What about the recent train accident in eastern China? what about safety and regulations? it seems that all China is interested in is to showcase its new power, even if it is not REAL.
China’s power is REAL. VERY REAL. What makes you think it is not?
Lisa and Shimi, your observations are both off the point. It is not about China’s power at all. It is a well known fact that strong infrastructure is the key for future growth – for any country. Just imagine how the United States would have looked like if it had the same railway network that China has worked so hard to build.
I agree that there are safety problems, much like many things in China, a lot is unclear. What is clear, to me, are the efforts that China is making (not just saying it is going to make – really making) to connect a nation that is the same size as ours with fast trains. We must appreciate this effort and not fear it. Perhaps you guys should learn a thing or two about the China bullet train network before you throw things out there like that
It is almost impossible to understand how China bullet train network has been built in such short time. in the states, we have been trying to build a bullet train probably for the past 30 years with no success
Is our system really better?
A few people here have mentioned the train accident the other day. I think it’s important to say out loud that this huge high speed network that China refers to as China bullet train network is still a huge experiment and there is no other country in the world that has attempted to use this technology in such a large scale. We should all be careful with this…
Jenny, the accident is a real issue. What bothers me more is not that accidents happen, because they do everywhere, and in fact in China they do happen rarely, but that the way Chinese authorities deal with the accident. There is no proper investigation and no lesson seems to be learned. China was quick to fire 3 public figures who might (but more probably have not) been responsible for the crash, and in a few days time there is barely any evidence that an accident even took place.
A country that aims to be modern should take the time (usually months, if not more) to perform a serious, meaningful investigation so that people will feel safe the next time they take a train. The fact that any other bullet train in China has not been in an accident does not mean it never will.
So China has a few bullet trains.big deal. bullet train network doesn’t make china more important or better than other countries. it just means that china can do huge projects – which is true throughout history (the great wall and the grand channel). this article presents China in a very misleading light
China is an empire, and bullet train is just one part of it. You better get this fact into your minds!!
China is just being smart, networking the entire country with fast speed trains, new airports and generally great infrastructure. The only thing it should worry about is jobs for people in the near future. That is a big deal, and even a bullet train in china cannot create more jobs
I disagree Kim. I think a network of bullet trains in China will definitely create more work. For many villagers who are moving to the cities, jobs are of great importance because many of them finance their families who are left in the village. The railway network can and will connect people from all across the country and will allow better flow of the work-force and thus more jobs will be created
Love this article. more articles about china bullet train network are welcome!
Interesting! love this post and this website as well!
China bullet train network. watch and learn how we do it!
I take the china bullet train many times and it is great. fast, quiet and on time
All over the news now you can hear how people are critical towards China railway system because of the accident. Everyone has something bad to say. Why is that? why can’t people just praise China, or at least appreciate it, for its efforts and what it has done so far? It seems to me, and I am not Chinese, that people just love to hate. Respect China for what it is doing with its railway system and appreciate that it will manage things on its own. after all, China bullet train network is the largest in the world
Tina, I’m sure you can understand why people are critical. This is people’s lives here. The China bullet train network is an excellent idea and I think many global citizens envy China that it can perform such projects. but if there is an accident, westerners expect China to do a full, thorough investigation. Many are disappointed from China’s reaction and might be afraid to take the train in the future
Have you ever taken the bullet train in China? it’s amazing. I haven’t seen anything like that in the world (except Japan)
The China Bullet Train network, when is fully build, will enable its to reclaim the past glory of a great empire. There is a great historical reason for China to build this network. No matter what people say, China should press forward with this project. Once the eastern end connected to the western end, China will begin to reclaim the dream that was lost a thousand years ago when the Tang dynasty ended.