China Inks Deal with Siemens for World's Largest High Speed Rail Network

China plans to create the world's largest high-speed rail network. The Chinese Ministry of Railways is planning to buy 1,000 high-speed trains within the next few years. The current order from Siemens (SI) includes the first trains to serve the new high-speed line between Bejing and Shanghai.

German train producer Siemens has inked a $1 billion contract to build 100 new high-speed trains for China. The company's Velaro train has a top speed of 218mph (350.84km/h). A typical train will have 16 cars and carry more than 1,000 passengers. With a total length of more than 1,300 feet (396.24m), the new trains will be the world's longest single high-speed units in use, according to Siemens.

By the end of the first quarter 2009, the approved Chinese railway investment exceeds $292 billion including more than $175 billion investment in the process projects. The data shown in the recent “Research Report on the Investment in Chinese Railway Transport Industry, 2009” indicates that China plans to construct 40-thousand-kilometer railways with the total investments of over $730 billion by 2012.

In the U.S., President Obama's decision to make high-speed passenger rail service a centerpiece of his transportation agenda is funded in part through the recently passed $787 billion stimulus plan including a total of $8 billion for improvements in the U.S. rail system. The Obama plan also proposes a separate five-year, $5 billion investment in high-speed rail as part of the administration's suggested fiscal year 2010 budget (FY10 budget outline) to make a down payment on constructing enhanced rail network.

A report just released by the U.S. Federal Transit Administration, “U.S. Rail Modernization Study “ estimates it may cost $50 billion to bring the rail systems in Chicago, Boston, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., into good repair and $5.9 billion a year to maintain them. These seven city systems carry 80% of the nation’s rail transit passengers, making more than 3 billion passenger trips a year. They also include some of the oldest subways and commuter railroads. Some of their facilities date back more than a century.

Capitalizing on the double digit sector growth, GE Transportation (GE) just announced its newest line of fuel efficient and low emissions Evolution Series locomotives, the Model ES44C4. GE Transportation has sales in excess of $4.5 billion delivers a cleaner, faster, safer and more reliable alternative to the aging North American fleet of DC-powered locomotives.

The new GE Evolution Series locomotive delivers significant performance improvement over existing DC-powered locomotives in three key areas:

• Better environmental performance. Compared to older DC locomotives, Model ES44C4 uses up to 17% less fuel and reduces emissions by approximately 70%. Six hundred of GE's latest locomotives can displace up to 800 older locomotives, translating to an annual reduction of more than 70 million gallons of fuel. The overall annual emissions reduction from this displacement is estimated to be 48,000 tons of nitrous oxide; 1,500 tons of particulate matter; and 1.0 million tons of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.

• Advanced traction control. Model ES44C4 delivers sophisticated traction control technology with its patented Dynamic Weight Management System that continuously monitors traction at the axles and automatically adapts to maximize performance on heavy trains. This system—– similar to traction control on an automobile—limits wheel slip at start up, on inclines and in adverse weather conditions, ensuring optimum performance and less wasted energy. In addition, this latest Evolution locomotive has a higher top speed than traditional DC-powered locomotives.

• Greater reliability. Older, DC heavy-haul locomotives currently require frequent and expensive maintenance to keep them running, which translates to significant time off the tracks instead of hauling freight. GE’s new AC motors have fewer parts to maintain and eliminate the electrical problems that hamper DC motors. As a result, they are easier to maintain and provide a higher level of reliability, which will allow the new ES44C4 to spend more time on the rails instead of in the shop for maintenance and repairs. Ultimately, this new platform could replace the older generation of DC-powered locomotives.

In terms of the global railway equipment market, presently GE has significant competition from global locomotive and railway car plant giants -- Germany's Siemens (SI) , Bombardier (BDRBF.PK), and Alstom (AOMFF.PK) all holding a combined 55% of total global market share (each 14%, 18% and 23%). Bombardier holds the largest market share of global railway equipment technology and sales market and Alstom leads on electric multiple unit trains (EMUs) and ordinary single-decker and double-decker electric locomotive market.

Expect double digital growth worldwide for the next five years in the high speed rail sector.

Disclosure: At the time of writing this article the author held no significant direct financial interest in the companies listed.

Comments

[john s. gordon:]

after dragging our feet on passenger rail for the last 50 yrs we are finally starting to wake up.
> jack

May 20 09:01 AM

[33Nick:]

It reminds us that there is nothing worse than differed maintenance. We have to catch up with the rest of the world by building new rail infrastructure, overhead centenaries and high-speed train signaling. In the end, it costs more to catch up than to maintain and improve, much like our revamping of the grid systems will cost.

The Electricnick.com team.

May 20 11:56 AM

[Danny Newton:]

A passenger train is nothing more than an airplne without wings. Unlike the airplane that only needs a runway at the beginning and end of the trip, the train needs a guideway the entire length of the trip. High speed trains will compete and lose against the airplane for convenience and speed. It will also lose the carbon foot print argument since airplanes are and will continue to be superior to trains in terms of BTU per passenger miles. The total length of passenger tracks in the US is about equal to a double track from New York to San Francisco. Our mass transit system is the car.

May 20 10:10 PM

[an691:]

"It will also lose the carbon foot print argument since airplanes are and will continue to be superior to trains in terms of BTU per passenger miles. "

What ? Are you crazy ?

short haul flight : fuel consumption equivalent to every single person in the plane alone on the freeway in a small truck on the same distance

long haul flight : every single person alone in a sedan

Planes suck hard at fuel efficiency ...

May 21 09:15 AM

[Conducter1:]

You want to wait 2-3 hours at an airport before you can even get on a plane, have fun. Trains you go to the station, maybe 1/2 hour before you leave, get on the train and away you go, while your still waiting at the airport. I'm not talking long distance, I'm talking short, under 1,000 miles. Trains, I can see our beatifull country, plus I can walk aroud on a train, something you can't do on a plane.

May 21 09:59 AM