News Archive
London to Beijing: two days by train?
Released on 09/03/2010
A Chinese rail consultant has suggested that high-speed trains could allow passengers to travel from London to Beijing in two days.
According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, China is in negotiations to build a high-speed rail network to India and Europe with trains capable of running at over 200mph within the next ten years.
According to Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a senior consultant on China’s domestic high-speed rail project, the network would eventually carry passengers from London to Beijing and then to Singapore. It would also run to India and Pakistan,.
A second project would see trains heading north through Russia to Germany and into the European railway system, and a third line will extend south to connect Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.
Passengers could board a train in London and step off in Beijing, 5,070 miles away as the crow flies, in just two days. They could go on to Singapore, 6,750 miles away, within three days.
“We are aiming for the trains to run almost as fast as aeroplanes,” said Mr Wang. “The best case scenario is that the three networks will be completed in a decade,” he added.
Mr Wang said that China was already in negotiations with 17 countries over the rail lines, which will draw together and open up the whole of Central, East and South East Asia. Mr Wang said the network would also allow China to transport valuable cargoes of raw materials more efficiently.
