Shinkansen for China

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Kyodo News reported today:

China to opt for Japan's Shinkansen train

China plans to adopt Japan's Shinkansen bullet train system for the proposed high-speed railway line between Shanghai and Beijing, the Chinese daily Chanjing Daily said Friday.

Quoting sources close to China's Ministry of Railways, the daily said Chinese plans to set up a private joint venture with Japan for the railway project, with an initial $25 billion investment from the two countries.


Reported on Sep. 20, 2002:

Japan's Ogi to pitch bullet train tech to China

By Takeshi Yoshiike


TOKYO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Japanese Transport Minister Chikage Ogi said on Friday she will meet with Chinese railroad officials on Monday to discuss the use of bullet train technology for a high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai.
"If Japan's shinkansen (bullet train) technology will be useful for China, we want to be of service and prepared to cooperate," Ogi told reporters at a news conference.

Ogi will be in China from Saturday to Tuesday for celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Japan.

Japan's hopes that its train technology would be selected for the two to three trillion yen ($16-25 billion) project faded when China selected Germany's cutting-edge maglev trains for a link between Shanghai and its new international airport.

Maglev technology uses magnets to allow trains to travel up to 420 km per hour (270 miles per hour).

However, concerns that a new 1,300-km (800-mile) train link between Shanghai and Beijing using the maglev technology might not be ready by 2008 has Japanese officials optimistic.

"The Chinese initially planned to use the German trains' linear system, but the project might not be entirely finished by the 2008 Beijing Olympics," said a Japanese railway official, who declined to be identified.

"There is a high probability that China will import the Japanese shinkansen technology."

Japanese media reports have said Beijing may seek a China-Japan joint venture to build the long-distance link.

China became the first nation to buy the German technology, backed by the Transrapid consortium made up of Siemens AG (XETRA:SIEGn.DE - News), ThyssenKrupp AG (XETRA:TKAG.DE - News) and the German government, with the first trains delivered about a month ago.

Earlier this year, a Japanese consortium won a 105 billion yen ($864.5 million) contract to build part of Taiwan's $13.6 billion "bullet" rail line, exporting the shinkansen technology to help complete the nation's first high-speed railway by 2005.

It will build a 176 km stretch of the railroad, or two sections of the project. Taiwan officials plan to select the contractors to build the remaining three sections later this year.

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