WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De
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China opens world's longest train high-speed line.
The longest train high speed line in the world, linking Beijing and Guangzhou, was inaugurated on Wednesday morning with the launch of a first fast train, marking a new stage in the great development of China's railway network, dotted, however, scandals and accidents.
For this release, China chose the day of the birthday of leader Mao Zedong, on 26 December 1893.
The train traveled the 2298 km between Beijing and Guangzhou, the major economic center of the south, in eight hours, three times less than today. Circulated at an average speed of 300 km / h and made five stops in major cities such as Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changsha.
Some of the high-speed sections in this line were already operating (Zhengzhou-Wuhan-Guangzhou), but lacked the Beijing-Guangzhou.
The departure of the first train was broadcast live on China Central Television, which also released reports recorded inside the cars, where passengers were seen taking pictures of this inauguration.
The first high-speed rail links in China date back to 2007. Since then, the country built the largest network in the world: more than 8,000 km by the end of 2010, a figure expected to double by 2020.
However, this development forced march was punctuated by scandals of corruption and inadequate security.
On July 23, 2011, a collision between two high-speed trains killed 40 people and left 200 injured in east China, which caused an outcry in the country.
After the collision on a viaduct near Wenzhou, authorities accumulated errors.
Several scenes repeated loop and dissected in the network showed excavators pushing the remains of wagons into a pit. Another amateur video, netizens claimed to see one or two bodies falling into the void, while that caused the fall of a car suspended from the viaduct.
The official inquiry said that there were "design flaws" in signaling equipment and the negligence of the railway authorities, so that 54 responsible, including a former Minister of Railways, were punished.
Before the opening of the new high-speed Beijing-Guangzhou, authorities said they had taken steps to improve the maintenance and inspections of infrastructure (roads, rail and emergency assistance in case of problems).
"Were established the system of emergency and all sorts of preparations to improve responsiveness" in case of difficulty, according to a Ministry of Railways brochure.
But the concern remains. The Global Times, a newspaper close to the Communist Party, on Wednesday quoted a ministry official who recognized persistent problems despite the efforts undertaken.
"We can not be sure that there is no risk in the future. Had a lot of pressure on people," he told the newspaper Zhao Chunlei, deputy head of the ministry.
The line will be operational for the Lunar New Year holidays (mid February 2013), during which hundreds of millions of Chinese cross the country, resulting in the world's largest annual migration.
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