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发表于 2004-8-31 08:29
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China taps Japan, France, Canada for high-speed rail technology
China's Railway Ministry has awarded contracts for upgrading key railway lines to six firms, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan, Alstom SA of France and Bombadier Inc. of Canada, state media reported Monday.
The deals, part of a US$12 billion (euro 10 billion) project to double the speed of trains on five railway lines to 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour, mark the first major transfer of Japan's "Shinkansen," or bullet train, technology to China, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries' successful bid was made with Chinese partner Nanche Sifang Locomotive Co. It is expected to involve a modified version of the bullet train, which runs at a maximum speed of 275 kilometers (172 miles) per hour, the reports said.
Alstom is teaming up with Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., they said.
Alstom's TGV, or Train a Grande Vitesse, operates at a top speed of 350 kilometers (218 miles) per hour.
The third contract went to Bombadier and joint venture partner Bombadier Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd., or BSP.
The companies were chosen for the technology, design and production expertise they would be able to provide to China and Chinese companies, Xinhua said.
Five railway lines are to be upgraded, stretching over 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles). They include a line between Beijing and the northeastern city of Shenyang and another connecting Qingdao and Jinan, two major cities in eastern China's Shandong province.
The reports did not clearly indicate which companies were awarded which projects.
The projects do not include a planned 1,120-kilometer (700-mile) high-speed trunk line between Beijing and Shanghai. That project, due to open bidding later this year, falls under the aegis of the government's National Development and Reform Commission.
Japan, France and Germany have all lobbied Beijing hoping to win contracts for that project, forecast to cost as much as 120 billion yuan (US$14 billion; euro 12 billion).
Chinese officials say they have not settled on what sort of technology to use for the new rail link, but that they plan to open the project to international bidding once a decision is reached.
The Railway Ministry has said China needs to spend 2 trillion yuan (US$240 billion; euro 200 billion) on expanding the rail system, which is operating at full capacity and can only handle about a third of current demand for cargo transport.
China began raising the speed at which trains operate in 1997. The most recent upgrade took the average speed for the fastest lines to 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. |
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