Sleek High Speed Bullet Train To Roll Out On Beijing-Tianjin Route Before August

October 20, 2007 7:38 a.m. EST

Beijing, China (AHN) - A thin-bodied train capable of running 300 kilometers per hour will roll out before August on the Beijing-Tianjin route in time for the Summer Games. China's revitalized railway system will provide not only high speed flights during the Games but also serve as information and publicity medium for the Beijing Olympics.

The new trains are the latest models of China Railway's high-speed series expected to match Japan's bullet trains. Its increased velocity will come from multiple engines placed in separate units, instead of the traditional single engine feature of slower trains. The body will use aluminum alloy, considered the lightest material of its kind in the world. The thinnest part of the bullet train's body measures 1.5 millimeters, Xinhua News quoted an unnamed official from the CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company.

It will reduced the travel time for the 115 kilometer Beijing-Tianjin line to half an hour from the current 80 minutes. The 600-seat bullet train will debut before the Olympic Games opens on August.

More rail lines are being placed as a run up to the Summer Games, said Tong Lijun of the Railways Ministry.

More than a fast transport means, Beijing trains will also play a vital role in the event. Four Beijing bound locomotives from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an and Changsha will have TV screens, photos and other items to communicate Olympic information and Chinese customs and culture.