REVscene Automotive Forum - Fast train, big dam show China's engineering might

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Fast train, big dam show China's engineering might

Imagine a high speed train link connecting NYC, Philly, Washington DC and Boston. Some in the US have been fighting for such a system for ages but no one wants to fund it. I would have imagined that all the billions they wasted on the stimulus which didn't create jobs they could have spent it on infrastructure like a high speed train link which we have created jobs for years to come and created infrastructure that would have benefited millions.

Quote:

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach, Ap Business Writer – Tue Oct 26, 9:33 am ET

HANGZHOU, China –

China rolled out its fastest train yet on Tuesday and announced that the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric project, is now generating electricity at maximum capacity — engineering triumphs that signal the nation's growing ambitions as its economy booms.

The successes demonstrate how, after decades of acquiring technology from the west, Beijing has begun to push the limits of its new capabilities, setting the bar higher on mega-projects as it seeks to promote the image of a powerful, modern China. But many of these initiatives have come at great human and environmental cost, and some have questioned whether the country fosters a sufficiently innovative spirit to compete on the next level.

Still in the works: more nuclear power plants, a gargantuan project to pump river water from the fertile south to the arid north, and a $32.5 billion, 820-mile (1,300-kilometer) Beijing-to-Shanghai high-speed railway that is scheduled to open in 2012.

"We are now much faster," Railway Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said at Tuesday's inauguration of the super-fast line from Shanghai's western suburb of Hongqiao to the resort city of Hangzhou. "Now other countries are hoping to cooperate with us."

The train will cruise at a top speed of 220 mph (350 kph), making the 125-mile (200-kilometer) trip in 45 minutes.

China already has the world's longest high-speed rail network and aims to more than double its length to 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) by 2020.

Chinese companies are also vying for projects overseas, including in the U.S., which leads the world in freight railway technology but has almost no high-speed rail expertise. That's a mark of how well and quickly the technology has been adopted by Chinese companies, who have traditionally only been able to compete on price in bidding for railway and other basic infrastructure projects in the developing world.

The Three Gorges Dam has been more controversial, though the government has relentlessly touted the $23 billion project as the best way to end centuries of floods along the mighty Yangtze and provide energy to fuel the country's economic boom.

The water level in the vast reservoir behind it hit its peak height of 574 feet (175 meters) at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, according to project operator, the China Three Gorges Project Corp. The previous record was 567 feet (172.8 meters), set in 2008, the year the generators began operating.

In the future, the water level will be adjusted depending on flood-control needs but kept within 100 feet (30 meters) of the maximum.

While raising the water level increases the electricity production of the dam, some geologists have warned that damming up too much water in the reservoir carries a heightened risk of landslides, earthquakes and prolonged damage to the river's ecology. As officials attempted to raise water levels in the reservoir last fall, at least one town had to evacuate dozens of residents after a hairline crack appeared on the slopes above homes.

In addition, millions have been displaced and great swaths of productive farmland sacrificed for dam and projects like it.

Company chairman Cao Guangjing called Tuesday's feat a "historical milestone." He said annual power generation will reach 84.7 billion kilowatt hours, enabling "the project to fulfill its functions of flood control, power generation, navigation and water diversion to the full."

Average economic growth rates of more than 9 percent per year over the past two decades have laid the foundation for rapid progress in a growing number of fields, including launching three manned space flights since 2003 and building a railway across the Tibetan plateau from Beijing to Lhasa. The 2008 Beijing Olympics and this year's mammoth Shanghai World Expo have demonstrated a growing managerial sophistication as well as ability to build infrastructure on an enormous scale.

But while the tremendous growth has enabled China to build big, some wonder if it can build smart — and become a source of true innovation.

Science and technology research in the country tends to be heavily topdown, laden with a stifling government bureaucracy. Many of China's best scholars and scientists depart for greener pastures abroad, while other top minds are pushed into administrative roles, leaving them little time for research.

Although China holds the patents on the technology, design and equipment used by the CRH380 train, some in the industry question the degree to which China is justified in claiming the latest technology as its own.

"Everybody knows that a lot of the core technology is European," Michael Clausecker, director general of Unife, the Association of the European Rail Industry, said in a recent interview.

And despite the obvious benefits high-speed railways bring, the replacement of slower lines with more expensive high-speed trains has prompted complaints from passengers reluctant to pay higher fares, especially on shorter routes.

___

Associated Press writer Tini Tran contributed to this report from Beijing.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Jah Gekko (Post 7162184)

Although China holds the patents on the technology, design and equipment used by the CRH380 train, some in the industry question the degree to which China is justified in claiming the latest technology as its own.

"Everybody knows that a lot of the core technology is European," Michael Clausecker, director general of Unife, the Association of the European Rail Industry, said in a recent interview.

Germans?

^ ja mein freund :troll:

^ nein! es ist Deutsch!

Investing in railway system is absolutely a must.

^ not gonna happen in NA because a rapid transit railway will put too many people out of work.

^ like who? i can only think of domestic airliners that would be seriously affected

on the other hand, building mega infrastructure during poor economic times like these should help create jobs + get economy moving

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiuYi (Post 7162392)

^ like who? i can only think of domestic airliners that would be seriously affected

Rail is a direct competitor to cars. In the mid 20th century, GM bought out and then immediately disassembled most of America's rail systems while simultaneously lobbying zealously for the construction of the world's most extensive inter/intrastate highway system. Purpose: to gain a monopoly on transportation. Result: most North Americans today are slaves to their cars and ridiculous daily commutes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wouwou (Post 7162371)

^ not gonna happen in NA because a rapid transit railway will put too many people out of work.

dunno about that.

wouldn't it be enforcing more domestic productions?

dunno.. i'm no econ expert.

All that, and most people there still pick their noses and flick boogers in public, scratch their anus in public, and spit food and loogeys onto the floor at nice restaurants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiuYi (Post 7162392)

If you haven't heard yet, the stim package is running short.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiuYi (Post 7162392)

on top of my head,

truck drivers, highway maintenance, automotive, transportation companies

and all the service companies that providing service to the above.

and any small towns/crappy diners on highway routes are gutted because of the lack of traffic.

even if US implements high speed rail, canada wont', canada's poplulation doesn't justify cost associated with setting up such a network in canada.
canada should just open up the air routes to american companies so we dont get shafted with high air travel costs.

hey, i heard from my parents that they are building another skytrain (or some kinda bullet train) somewhere in vancouver(?) that runs down to somewhere in seattle. and then eventually, will be connected to cali.

is that true? not really sure where they heard it from, but most likely from newspapers or something.

wondering if anyone else read something about this.

EDIT: i apologize if my post is considered thread jacking ;s

EDIT2: found this:
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/a...ouver-possible

not sure if its true though, but that would be awesome ;]

^ they're just extending the amount of passenger rail trains between van and seattle afaik.

Edit: Nevermind, just saw your second edit.
Posted via RS Mobile

high speed means an average of 110 miles per hour.

weak, thats still like a 12 hour train ride to get to LA.

how ironic. the chinese also built the railroads in north america.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZhangFei (Post 7162673)

how ironic. the chinese also built the railroads in north america.

YYYYYYyyyyyyoooooooooo ZhangFei.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy617 (Post 7162610)

high speed means an average of 110 miles per hour.

weak, thats still like a 12 hour train ride to get to LA.

yeah it needs to run at 250kph+

anyways the link only says plans to portland...if it does get build it would probably take another decade for them to extend it into LA or san diego. even if it does happen..i'm sure it will costs more than airfare from bellingham to LA

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp (Post 7162405)

All that, and most people there still pick their noses and flick boogers in public, scratch their anus in public, and spit food and loogeys onto the floor at nice restaurants.

just wait for the boomers to die and take their bad habits along with them. Those people grew up in a shit country, it's a no brainer that a shit country breeds shit people. China didnt really get their shit together until 5-10 yrs ago.

I took the high speed rail from Shanghai to Tainjin this spring and it hit 329kp/h. This wasn't even one of the fancy pants maglev trains, this was on wheels and it was smooth as silk.

The three gorges dam is not that big of a deal. Sure it's big in the fact that it spans a long distance and has a big powerhouse, but it's reservoir is only about half of our WAC bennett dam up north. We have a LOT more potential generation power.

^
This is Canada.

The Dam in China is a step in the right direction, regardless of it's size/potential. It's "cleaner" Energy, and in a few years that will really help with almost.. everything. Affordable Electricity, better living (outskirts), and maybe it'll actually help get rid of all that smog from the Newfound Industrialization.

domestic rail is the "future" for NA

that's why Warren Buffet invested in Rail and purchased BNSF railway

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZhangFei (Post 7162673)

how ironic. the chinese also built the railroads in north america.

lol. zhangFei is bak.