The Fuxing (or Rejuvenation) high-speed train, which operates between Beijing and Shanghai, switched to a higher speed of 350 kilometers per hour on Sept 21, making the locally developed bullet train one of the fastest train services in the world.
A report in Science and Technology Daily revealed some of the advanced technologies used in the train. Let's take a look.
Lower air resistance
When the bullet train runs at 350 km/h, 90 percent of the resistance comes from the air. Compared with previous versions of bullet trains in China, the Fuxing train has an improved aerodynamic performance.
The resistance has been reduced by 12 percent and the energy consumption per 100 kilometers per capita has been cut 17 percent, according to Ding Sansan, the deputy chief engineer of the CRRC Sifang Co Ltd, the bullet train's manufacturer.
It is equivalent to a reduction of 5,000 kilowatts of electricity on a Beijing to Shanghai trip, said Ding.
More than 2,500 detectors are installed on the Fuxing bullet train to monitor the vibration, temperature of bearings, traction and break systems as well as the environment in carriages.
In a single trip from Beijing and Shanghai, a distance of 1,318 kilometers, more than 300 megabytes of data will be recorded through these detectors, compared with 1.7 megabytes of data contained in a digital edition of the classic novel A Dream of Red Mansion.
Also, the bullet train for the first time introduced high-speed Ethernet in the network control system, with the bandwidth expanding from 1-megabyte level to 100-megabyte level. And the whole network control system, hardware and software included, are entirely designed by China.
A safe and quiet train
To boost the anti-collision ability, the train is equipped with impact energy absorption devices.
The devices are able to absorb the energy generated from collision, thus keeping the passengers safe. The absorption capacity of Fuxing's anti-collision system reaches 6.8 megajoule, a world-leading level, said Ding.
The Fuxing train is also very quiet. The loudest noise a passenger can hear at the speed of 350 km/h is 65 decibel, thanks to the streamlined design of train's head and new sound-proof materials.
