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US High-Speed Rail: China To Bid On
Projects<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/13/us-highspeed-rail-china-t_n_497854.html>

JOE MCDONALD<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/13/us-highspeed-rail-china-t_n_497854.html?view=print#>
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03/13/10 07:39 AM | [image: AP]

BEIJING — China plans to bid for contracts to build U.S. high-speed train
lines and is stepping up exports of rail technology to Europe and Latin
America, a government official said Saturday.

China has built 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) of high-speed rail for its
own train system and President Barack Obama issued a pledge in November with
his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, to cooperate in developing the
technology.

"We are organizing relevant companies to participate in bidding for U.S.
high-speed railways," Wang Zhiguo, a deputy railways minister, told a news
conference.

Wang gave no details of where China's railway builders might seek contracts,
but systems are planned in California, Florida and Illinois. He said
state-owned Chinese companies already are building high-speed lines in
Turkey and Venezuela.

Beijing plans to construct a 16,000-mile (25,000-kilometer) high-speed rail
network by 2020 in a 2 trillion yuan ($300 billion) project it hopes will
spur economic and technology development. A new line linking the central
city of Wuhan with Guangzhou near Hong Kong on China's southern coast is
billed as the world's fastest at 237 miles (380 kilometers) per hour.

China produces high-speed trains using French, German and Japanese
technology. Its manufacturers have developed a homegrown version but have
yet to produce a commercial model.

Chinese rail authorities have signed cooperation memos with California and
Russia and state companies plan to bid on a line in Brazil linking Rio de
Janeiro with Sao Paulo, Wang said. He said Saudi Arabia and Poland also have
expressed interest.

The White House announced $8 billion in grants in January for rail projects
including the high-speed systems in California, Florida and Illinois.

"China is willing to share its mature and advanced technology with other
countries to promote development of the world's high-speed railways," Wang
said.

So far, China's government has completed 2,295 miles (3,676 kilometers) of
rail lines with top speeds of up to 220 mph (350 kph) and 1,795 miles (2,876
kilometers) with speeds up to 155 mph (250 kph), according to Wang.

Another 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) of lines are under construction, he
said.

Once the network is completed, it will cut travel time from Beijing to Hong
Kong from 24 hours to 10.

Some critics say high-speed train fares are too high for average Chinese and
question whether the lines can recover their construction costs.

Wang said high-speed trains already have higher occupancy rates than regular
trains, though he gave no details.

___

Associated Press researcher Bonnie Cao contributed to this report.
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.co