People attend a naming ceremony for the new models of China's electric multiple unit (EMU) train "Fuxing" in Beijing, capital of China, June 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
(ECNS) -- China has put new high-speed trains outperforming previous models into service, with a longer service life, bigger capacity, more comfort and better safety monitoring systems.
The new trains named "Fuxing", or "Rejuvenation" in English, have two models, the CR400AF manufactured by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, and the CR400BF by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles. The word "rejuvenation" has been widely employed by the central leadership to refer to its goals of achieving "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation".
Experts say the "Rejuvenation" trains boast fully domestic technology, showing that China is now a world leader in advanced bullet train technology. After first being used on Beijing-Shanghai lines on Monday, they are expected to gradually replace the current bullet trains, which carry the designation "Harmony."
At a naming ceremony at a maintenance facility in Beijing's Daxing district, Lu Dongfu, general manager of China Railway Corp, said the "Rejuvenation" trains were developed mostly using China's railway standards and technologies, so they are better adapted to the country's environment and rail transport patterns.
Lu also said the new trains would help China's railway technology further explore the international market.
The trains will travel at a speed of about 350 kilometers per hour, though their maximum speed can reach 400 km/h, according to designers at the China Academy of Railway Sciences.
Wang Yueming, chief researcher at the academy, said China's bullet trains were initially developed from technologies imported from Europe and Japan, but that China now has its own technical standards, which means all trains produced later are able to link together.
The "Rejuvenation" trains have undergone running tests over 600,000 kilometers amid a range of weather conditions and have a designed life of 30 years, 10 years longer than Harmony models.
The new trains are also slimmer, reducing air resistance by 7.5 to 12.3 percent, while energy consumption on one hundred kilometer per capita drops 17 percent when it runs at 350 kilometers per hour.
The height of the new trains was increased from 3700 millimeters to 4050 millimeters so passengers will find the trains more spacious and less noisy.
Wi-fi is also fully accessible on the trains, while their new lightning systems provide more choices for passengers.
The trains also have more powerful security systems that have 2,500 spots monitored, 500 more than even the best-covered trains of the past, making them much better prepared to cope with emergencies.
He Huawu, chief engineer at China Railway Corp, said the new trains will also "greatly reduce production, operational and maintenance costs, and will help us export our railway equipment, trains and technologies."
