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China Relaunches World's Fastest Train (fortune.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet dept.

China has decided to relaunch the world's fastest train service following a fatal crash in 2011, where the high speed train service reduced its upper limit from its then-record holding 350 km/h (217 miles/hour) to 250-300 km/h (155-186 miles/hour). Fortune reports: Government-controlled website Thepaper.cn reported that seven pairs of bullet trains will be operating under the name "Fuxing," meaning rejuvenation, according to the South China Morning Post. The trains will once again run at 350 km/h, with a maximum speed of 400 km/h (248 mph). It is reported that the train service will boast a monitoring system that will automatically slow the trains in case of emergency. The Beijing-Shanghai line will begin operating on 21 September and will shorten the nearly 820 mile journey by an hour, to four hours thirty minutes. Nearly 600 million people use this route each year, providing a reported $1 billion in profits . Other routes include Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, which will begin operation today.

118 comments

  1. Not very reassuring... by Harold+Halloway · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It is reported that the train service will boast a monitoring system that will automatically slow the trains in case of emergency.

    Most trains will tend to slow down in the case of an emergency. The question is how quickly they slow down and what they hit whilst doing so.

    1. Re: Not very reassuring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      It kind of helps that Japan has earthquakes. They put veey sensitive sensors into the rails and these sensors would react to not jusy earthquakes. China is no good.

    2. Re:Not very reassuring... by bluegutang · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It doesn't matter. 1.44 billion people took Chinese high speed rail in 2016, perhaps 10 billion total in the history of Chinese HSR. In all this time, there has been one crash causing 40 deaths. Had all these people driven cars instead, the number of crash deaths would have been many times higher.

    3. Re:Not very reassuring... by bluegutang · · Score: 1

      And had they taken airplanes, there wouldn't have been space in the sky and airports for all the planes.

    4. Re:Not very reassuring... by Cryacin · · Score: 1

      So if there's an Earthquake, would Fuxing become Fuxed?

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    5. Re:Not very reassuring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't matter, the US got Trumped.

    6. Re:Not very reassuring... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Most trains will tend to slow down in the case of an emergency. The question is how quickly they slow down and what they hit whilst doing so.

      The trick is not slowing down, it's detecting the emergency. Most trains don't do this very well at all.

    7. Re:Not very reassuring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's an obvious joke, but the pronunciation is something like fu-shing or fu-zing, not fucksing.

    8. Re:Not very reassuring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There has been one crash *reported*

    9. Re:Not very reassuring... by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 2

      While the Chinese are moving at > 200mph, the US' flagship service, the Acela Express, toddles along at around 80mph average, although some runs like Boston are more like 60mph, a figure first reached by a steam locomotive in 1848.

    10. Re:Not very reassuring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most trains will tend to slow down in the case of an emergency. The question is how quickly they slow down and what they hit whilst doing so.

      The trick is not slowing down, it's detecting the emergency. Most trains don't do this very well at all.

      This is probably pretty true.
      I've been on the trains they are talking about a couple of times over the past few years. All of this is new and hasn't needed much maintenance yet. Overall the train is very nice, and nicer to ride than most of the public transportation I've taken in the US. Each time I think they topped out around 250-300 km/h. Hopefully they maintain them better than what you see of a lot of the older buildings around china. If it ends up being like the older building, then as time goes on they may become more and more dangerous.

    11. Re:Not very reassuring... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      But while we had Obama, who supported and funded high speed rail, the weenie anti-tech Democrats still wouldn't let him build any of them.

    12. Re:Not very reassuring... by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      But we can't invest in trains in the US because trains aren't profitable! (Ignores all trains that are profitable, including, uh, the Acela Express, and the vast majority of high speed systems world wide)

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    13. Re: Not very reassuring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Least they are trying , all you can manage is to put an orange orangutan in an electric golf cart and even then he wishes to retrofit it with a petrol burning engine.

  2. Only fastest for a short while by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

    It's only fastest for a short while... then they have to relaunch it again.

    ba dum tss

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    1. Re:Only fastest for a short while by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought from the headline they were relaunching a faster train and pictured in my head a high tower with a ramp like a Hot Wheels track.

  3. Fuxing Up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Or: Fuxing a little slower, with better results

  4. Length inaccuracies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    12'000 miles include also rails capable of 200km/h only.
    The 300 km/h capable rails are today around 6'000 miles.
    Also as I know the high speed economics in France, I have the feeling that high speed train are not economally sustainable: TGV are becoming way too expensive, and SNCF is losing money on the overall high speed trains.
    Here China Rail authority has a debt of over $600 billions. It will be bailed out by the government. Hey it is owned by the government !
    As with these c919 planes heavily subsidized, WTO should forbid China to sell the trains and tracks abroad.
    Anyway, the business cases of high-speed train is more as a luxury item (Concord train) than a size fit all transportation device as done in France or China.

    1. Re:Length inaccuracies by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > It will be bailed out by the government. Hey it is owned by the government !

      Just like roads. They are economically unsustainable also. They make zero profit. That's why any country with roads is in a worse state economically than countries without roads.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    2. Re:Length inaccuracies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TGV are becoming way too expensive, and SNCF is losing money on the overall high speed trains.

      Trains like roads are a taxpayer problem. If SNCF is losing money, it's because not enough tax money is being spent on rails.

      If it's anything like up here, this may very well be because politicians would much rather the people be stuck in traffic while they fly above, and spend the same money on building roads so that the tax payers can send their money to Saudi Arabia instead.

    3. Re:Length inaccuracies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The USA has many, many roads, and I would say that we are doing better economically than most countries, by a long shot.

    4. Re:Length inaccuracies by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

      The USA has many, many roads, and I would say that we are doing better economically than most countries, by a long shot.

      Did you feel a faint whooshing noise overhead?

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    5. Re:Length inaccuracies by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      All plane manufacturers are subsidized. It's just every country does it in different ways. Chine is less subtle about it. Bombardier just got a nice loan from the province of Quebec. Every time Boeing needs a hand a lucrative contract from the military. Airbus complains about Boeing getting unfair subsidies and Boing complains Airbus is getting them. Bombardier complains that Embraer is unfairly subsidized and I'm sure that they do the same. Everyone complains about the the others while having their hand out to the government to take whatever they can get and ask for more.

    6. Re:Length inaccuracies by hord · · Score: 1

      Roads don't make profits? You mean I don't pay for fuel taxes, tolls, or tickets while driving on road surfaces? You might want to ask any city that relies on speeding tickets for revenue if they make money or not. Where do they get all the shiny patrol cars and military training? It could be from asset forfeiture on one of these non-profitable roads. I forgot that stealing property can't be considered income so maybe you are correct.

    7. Re:Length inaccuracies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > 12'000 miles include also rails capable of 200km/h only.

      200km/h is still faster than what can be sustained in a car. (Owing to the fact that rubber tyres wear out rather quickly at speeds over 100mph / 160km/h. Doing 320km/h they only last about 15mins, that's why e.g. Ferrari has to limit the fuel tank capacity of its cars, so that petrol will guaranteed run out before a new set of P-Zero tyres becomes illegally slick at top speed. On the other hand, steel wheels running on steel rails last about to the Moon and back, even on HST lines.)

    8. Re:Length inaccuracies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's with the weird apostrophes in your numbers?

    9. Re:Length inaccuracies by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

      Yeah, everyone gets more from the government except the people that pay taxes. I live in this shitty-ass backwater province of Quebec, and I need medical care. A series of "family doctors" and specialists all more useless than the next, only interested in a mechanical approach of one symptom, one test, one pill. And if you complain about pain that doesn't show up on a test, then it's in your head and you need a psychologist.

      But we make nice planes no one wants with that 50% that is stolen from my paycheck every two weeks.

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
    10. Re:Length inaccuracies by stabiesoft · · Score: 1

      Not just planes. We the taxpayer get screwed period. Ask the people in Wisconsin in a few years. Or the people in NC after the Dell thing. Or even the people in Austin if all those tax breaks to corps to come here paid off. Nope, MY property taxes are thru the roof and the city is falling apart, but hey more tax breaks to bring more companies in that don't have to pay to come. Then of course anyone big enough challenges the taxing authority that their massive hotel is not worth the appraisal, and they have the lawyers to tie it up in court. What do I get if I protest, here's a thousand off your appraisal, now piss off. I maintain, if the hotel wants to say their property is worth 1/10th of what it is worth, the appraisal district should have the option to buy the property at the price the hotel chain says it is worth and resell it to someone else. The new buyer would be required to pay taxes at the new(real) fair market value.

    11. Re:Length inaccuracies by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      The USA has many, many roads, and I would say that we are doing better economically than most countries, by a long shot.

      Whoosh!

    12. Re: Length inaccuracies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because in France they use comma instead or the point, and the apostrophe instead or the comma.

    13. Re:Length inaccuracies by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      In the US, roads are actually profitable when you factor in the gas taxes paid. In fact, road taxes (via the gas tax) pays for big subsidies for transit and air travel...

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    14. Re:Length inaccuracies by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      OK. For everyone who didn't get the subtext, it is that the benefits of infrastructure spending and transport subsidy are far outweighed by the economic benefit. It was written in the way it was written to mirror the erroneous logic of the prior posting stating that trains are unsustainable because they cost a lot.

      If you need explanations of any other instances of humor or sarcasm or unconstrained piss taking, please consult with a normal human who speaks English.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    15. Re:Length inaccuracies by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      No, I got the sarcasm, but also wanted to point out the fallacy that in the US roads "cost money". No, they actually MAKE money, enough to pay for themselves AND transit funding - all off the gas tax alone. The economic benefit of not being Elbonia is just a bonus...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    16. Re:Length inaccuracies by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      The gas tax hasn't covered the expenses to maintain the road system in the USA for quite some many years now.

    17. Re:Length inaccuracies by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      This says otherwise. If you have more up-to-date statistics, I'd be interested. Much of the money brought in from gas taxes is spent not on roads but on mass transit, planes, bike lanes, etc.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  5. ..not the fastest train... by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 3, Informative

    Just the fastest train service ...

    Passenger trains have gone faster (one offs), manned trains have gone much faster (632 mph), Unmanned trains have gone ridiculously fast (6,416 mph)

    --
    Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    1. Re:..not the fastest train... by 91degrees · · Score: 2

      Aren't those just rockets on guidance tracks though? I mean, it's cool, but not much use for public transport.

    2. Re:..not the fastest train... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The French TGV has a record speed of 575 km/h with people on board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8skXT5NQzCg

      There might be faster trains, but I have not heard of them.

      A Maglev has gone 603 km/h, but it is open to debate whether that counts as a train in the traditional sense. I think it is. :-)

    3. Re:..not the fastest train... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are just rocket sleds, not even "trains" and the last time they ran was 2003 and ran in a helium tube...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_speed_record_for_rail_vehicles#Rocket_sleds

      But if you call it a "rocket sled train" even thought it isn't a train and only has a single sled on a set of rails you can claim to have the fastest "train" in the world?

    4. Re:..not the fastest train... by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 1

      Conventional Passenger Train on normal tracks world record is : 357.2 mph - French TGV

      This was a one off .. normal service is slower due to safety concerns

      --
      Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    5. Re:..not the fastest train... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There are as many ways to judge a rail speed record as there are countries trying for it. The French rely on old fashioned locomotives pulling and pushing passive rolling stock, the locomotives being fitted with gas turbine engines to avoid dealing with the problem of keeping electrical contact with an overhead wire or third rail at high speeds without it being melted by the friction. They hold the absolute record (excluding maglevs), reached by removing all the unpowered carriages, and just running a pair of locomotives by themselves (they have half a dozen seats in each powered locomotive just so it still qualifies as a passenger train in this configuration). The Japanese use electric trains with driving wheels in every carriage. They hold the record for a full length train, but in actual service are limited to 320kph, and that only on a stretch of rural rail between Hiroshima and Kyushu, mostly the service speed is kept below 250kph by the short distances between urban areas, and the noise regulations in urban areas have them barely faster than the commuter trains below. The Chinese can't make faster trains than the Japanese (their technology is cloned from the Japanese and French who supplied their first couple of generations of high speed rail), so they go for the fastest speed in actual service. They can do this because of fewer regulations, and also longer distances through countryside for some of their routes.

  6. china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by sittingnut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    whether this train will live up to its clams over the long run may be in doubt, but china is at least trying to build something, that at very least claims to benefit its citizens.
    at the same time usa is wasting lot more money and lives continuing unwinnable wars, causing huge destructions and deaths, creating ever more terrorists, directly in contradiction to wishes of american voters, who wanted less foreign entanglements and interventions, and wanted domestic development "first".

    1. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, you're never gonna get proper infrastructure projects. The best the US can hope for is contracts handed out to private companies who'll only build in the most populous areas and charge users hefty tolls for the pleasure after hoovering up millions in taxpayer subsidies.

    2. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree that the US has been going in the wrong direction for some time but I do not envy the Chinese. There is a lot of people suffering there and it's not just because of their totalitarian government, they have giant looming issues that are one disruption from crumbling their empire.

      Right now China is economically dependant on the rest of the world using them as a manufacturing hub while keeping money from leaving their country by devaluing their currency and levying huge import taxes. This has multiple issue:

      * It's paradoxical because as it lifts the Chinese people up, they want better conditions which is actually causing jobs to go elsewhere and making manufacturers more reliant on automation. Either way, the result is that it's bad for the Chinese economy.
      * China has strict environmental standards but only use it to prevent foreign companies from doing business there. If the EU or US actually insist on compliance, it will cause production to be less cost effective and again cause economic issues.
      * There has been a housing bubble in China but the problem is that nobody can afford to live their. The result is entire cities that are sparsely populated. When this comes crashing down, it will be absolutely devastating for China.
      * Their stock market is currently being propped up by their government.
      * The pollution in cities is absurdly high and is causing lung cancer in a lot of people. An increased percentage of the population dying isn't good in the long run because people may leave the cities out of fear or cause civil unrest but this is an outlying issue.

      China isn't even a great place to be right now (Beijing has what they call "the poverty belt" that surrounds it) and while they do their best to present a good image, they are one bad issue away from economic collapse. A "trade war" with China would destabilize their country in a big way.

      --
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    3. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      China is not devaluing their currency, the currency is bound to the US$
      There is no real housing bubble, the empty cities are build by the government ... sigh
      Regarding its economy depending on the global market, I really doubt that.

      --
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    4. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good sir, that is patently untrue!

      The taxpayer subsidies will be in the billions of dollars.

    5. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      * Their one child policy has created a demographics disaster

    6. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      China's yuan loosely tracks the USD but it is not bound to it. China revalues its currency against the USD when it resets its reference rate of how many yuan equals a USD. Devaluation is done, for example, when the USD appreciates and China wants to boost exports, because then the USD (the world's reserve currency) can buy more of the now cheaper Chinese yuan goods.

      China has a huge housing bubble because the government pours so much money into construction. This creates a lot of empty unaffordable housing because the average citizen is still quite poor. It's also a big contributer to China's huge debt bubble.

      China is the world's largest exporter and trader and international trade is a large portion of the Chinese economy. ANY global financial fluctuation which causes countries to buy less will directly affect the Chinese economy, and will have ripple effects on the economies of countries which provide China raw/natural resources, such as Australia.

    7. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · · Score: 2

      I can't mod up Gravis Zero because this excellent post is already rated at 5 points, but I totally agree with it. I've spent a little time in China this decade and had a couple of girlfriends who were from there and I can tell you that there are plenty of people who would love to leave it and move to America with all of America's "problems". Some people do care a lot about political freedom and safety issues. Can you imagine going to the grocery store in the USA, Canada, the EU, Japan, Australia, etc. and wondering if the powdered milk you want to buy is going to kill you if you drink it? That's a real fear in China. Just a few years ago Hong Kong had such a run on powdered milk that the local government had to actually put limits on how much non-residents could buy while traveling there.

      One of my girlfriends lived in Shanghai and she was absolutely terrified of the high speed trains and flat out refused to ride on any of them. She told me that she felt that they were unsafe and she wasn't going to get herself killed in an accident on one of them. I can also tell you that her parents lived in a typical apartment that they got back in the 1970s after getting married and the value of it now was just insanely expensive compared to what it cost when they moved in. They could never afford to leave it. Shanghai may have among the worst property values in China but to a certain extent all Chinese property values are like those in California, the UK, Tokyo and Hong Kong - far higher than makes any sense and so high that many people who get mortgages will never be able to pay them off. Any place in China that is a city and not a village is like that. And Gravis correctly mentions the ghost cities that nobody or almost nobody lives in that apparently were built just to give workers something to do. They've even got some malls in some places that are empty and have never had stores in them or were built to hold 50 or more stores and maybe have 1 or 2 in the whole place.

      The stock market, which Gravis mentioned, does seem to be on shaky ground. I can tell you that the average Chinese person is a very unsophisticated investor. I live in the USA and sure, lots of people here don't know much about the stock market and may even admit so, but in China there seems to be a general consensus that you can't lose - ever - if you buy stocks. On some level they have to know that some stocks certainly lose money, but there still remains this idea that the stock market will only go up forever for all stocks in China and if you don't invest in it, you are wasting your chance to make big money.

    8. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by doctorvo · · Score: 1

      at the same time usa is wasting lot more money and lives continuing unwinnable wars, causing huge destructions and deaths, creating ever more terrorists, directly in contradiction to wishes of american voters, who wanted less foreign entanglements and interventions, and wanted domestic development "first".

      As far as I can tell, Trump and the Republican Congress haven't started any new wars, and Trump has been pushing pressure on Europeans to pay for their own defense. So, I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to.

      but china is at least trying to build something, that at very least claims to benefit its citizens

      We've been there and done that with the Robber Barons of the 19th century: politically connected wealthy people who use government-subsidized railroads and corruption to massively enrich themselves. Why do you want more of that?

    9. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by tquasar · · Score: 1

      The air pollution in China is terrible. Any images I've seen show the background disappearing in a haze. You can't see the water or other problems with contaminated soil or crops.

    10. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of my girlfriends lived in Shanghai and she was absolutely terrified of the high speed trains and flat out refused to ride on any of them.

      German high speed rail system killed more people than the Chinese system to date.
      Are the Germans terrified of high speed trains?
      Amtrak killed more people than the Chinese.
      I'm guessing your current BOYriend refuse to ride Amtrak?

      HSR

      The stock market, which Gravis mentioned, does seem to be on shaky ground

      So the stock market crash of 1929, 1987, and 2008 should have wiped out the entire western civilization?

    11. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your point?? east germany looked worse than that as a whole when the wall came down. rest assured, it no longer does. china probably has many more smokers than the more 'developed' nations as a whole; these are all just stepping stones .. except in the us, where there are now more opiate addicts than smokers, which look like the last stage of exploitation. in any case, you have no point.

    12. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i think you're mistaking the game played here and there.. here its short-term exploits, there its long-term awakening. the us can only loose attempting to 'win' whereas china has nothing to loose at all. a billion people lost in wars would barely matter to them. that's 3 usas. different games; don't compare compare them like this, use the trajectories.

    13. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wrt stocks .. if you're saying their naivety is worse than that prevalent in the us, i'd remind you that the us has a war of neighbor against neighbor ever since we thought the cold-war/difference between the systems had been won when russia dropped out of the game for a bit. these nations, china/russia, play a long, value based game which we are countering with rhetoric alone.

      in other words, who gives a fuck about ghost cities; they are trying and learning. we are doing nothing while deceit and polemics cover up unbelievable graft and misappropriations; don't be so fing phenomenal dude, we're not dissing them because not everyone there has a cool phone like you. or wait, we are; i don't think any of the comments here get the degree to which we're done.

    14. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by spikenerd · · Score: 1

      ...it's not just because of their totalitarian government

      All of these problems are side-effects of their totalitarian government. It is far too difficult for a totalitarian government to be simultaneously aware of all the problems that need to be addressed, and no individual under the rule of a totalitarian government wants to take responsibility for anything besides their own well-being because that would be doing work for which someone else (the totalitarian government) is responsible. Thus, any attempt to fix these problems while respecting the totalitarian government is like working harder to carry water in a leaky basket.

    15. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      tl;dr
      Too many grammer failures, hard to read. General gist is "bitch bitch bitch", so not worth parsing.

    16. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      His point is perhaps that it will take a generation or more to fix the pollution problem, as we've seen it happen in other places. If the political will is present.
      Note: I like the tangent into the "Opium Wars". Nice pivot.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
    17. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You don't really know what you're talking about. Everything you said has been spoon fed to you by the media. In the west, it's politically correct to denounce China and dismiss her progress at every possible chance, be it due to anti-communism sentiment or Euro-centric hubris. Just look at any Chinese literature or movie that's won awards from the west. Each and every one of them must paint China in some negative light one way or another. That's the bottom line for western approval.

    18. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      tl;dr Too many grammer failures, hard to read. General gist is "bitch bitch bitch", so not worth parsing.

    19. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      The RMB is not pegged. The HKD is pegged to a narrow band, but the RMB is manipulated as Beijing deems so that they can have an accelerator on the import/export/production side of the economy. In the last 2 years, the RMB has gone from ~6.3 to one USD to ~7 to one USD, and now sits about 6.7 RMB to the USD. It's more ""volatile" compared to the EUR:USD exchange rate. Would that mean the EUR is pegged to the USD?

      And there definitely is a housing bubble in China. Three years ago, my wife (Shanghainese) and I helped my stepdaughter buy an apartment in Shanghai. 34 square meters, it was about 1.8 million RMB (about $275,000). She's looking to move to a different area of Shanghai, and the appraisals are coming in at 4.2 million RMB - more than doubling of price in about 3 years. That's a nice 30% return, annually. Multiple real estate agents have told us that - IF we decide to sell - we can expect all-cash offers within 1-2 days, and probably a bidding war that will push the price to around 4.5 million RMB.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    20. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Gussington · · Score: 1

      I agree that the US has been going in the wrong direction for some time but I do not envy the Chinese. There is a lot of people suffering there and it's not just because of their totalitarian government, they have giant looming issues that are one disruption from crumbling their empire.

      Right now China is economically dependant on...

      All of this is also true for every other country, except China has a plan and a system of government that can execute a plan. Meanwhile the US has a bunch of infants pissing in their nappies.
      Sure China ain't great, but if you had to have a bet on who will be ahead in a hundred years, my money isn't on the the US (as much as I would like it to be).

    21. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Much like Europe in the 19th century. China went from the equivalent of 16th century Europe to the 20th in about 30 years. There's no reason to think they can't overcome the same gains we made in 100 years in a single generation.
      So enjoy the view from the high horse while you still have it...

    22. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Past 25 years, very few predictions are relevant, including yours. As for me, I think we're going to see a few of tiny changes that will ultimately lead to a far more representative government and begin cleaning up the political mess we're in.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    23. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't mod up Gravis Zero because this excellent post is already rated at 5 points,

      In fact, he is at +4 with a +1 karma bonus, so you can mod him up. Only people with nonstandard settings will see the difference though.

    24. Re:china builds infrastructure, usa continues wars by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      New Zealand. Less fallout.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  7. Relaunch? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    Maybe 'relaunch' wasn't the ideal word to choose.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  8. 350 km/h? by stereoroid · · Score: 2

    That's Fuxing quick!

    --
    (this is not a .sig)
    1. Re:350 km/h? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're fuxing boring!

  9. Fuxing by DrXym · · Score: 1

    When the train hits top speed passengers will be well and truly fuxed.

    1. Re:Fuxing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh no fux0rd!

  10. They must be... by Paronymous_Coward · · Score: 1

    Fuxing crazy.

    1. Re:They must be... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Yep. I thought Fukuppy was the accidentally best name evar, but I think this may be right up there too

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  11. It's a miracle by Katatsumuri · · Score: 1

    I would count the Chinese huge high-sped rail network as one of the modern day seven wonders. And it looks like they are ripping huge economical benefits from it. It is funny how in the game of Civilization everyone knows to prioritize the roads, but in the real world most countries fail to pull off such massive infrastructure projects with reasonable speed.

    I hope China does manage to take their rail network global, as planned.

    1. Re:It's a miracle by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0

      Why aren't you mentioning the fact that the government confiscated (i.e. stole) all the land for these lines from the poor? And the poor got zero input into the process and frequently got shafted in payment? Seven wonders, yeah right.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    2. Re:It's a miracle by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      HINT: there is ZERO private land ownership within China. Even your "apartment" (condo, really). You get, at best, a 75 year lease with an explicit clause in it that the Government can repossess at any time with no prior notice, and just pay you "fair market value". No land was confiscated, the Government just canceled its leases. Now, if you were a city dweller, and the Government decided to rebuild/repurpose your apartment building, you typically get a nice payout and a new apartment somewhere else - but if you're a farmer in the middle of nowhere, you just some RMB and sent along your way.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    3. Re:It's a miracle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why aren't you mentioning the fact that the government confiscated (i.e. stole) all the land for these lines from the poor?

      yeah, native American outrage!

    4. Re:It's a miracle by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      Well, in the City of London condo's that you "buy" aren't actually yours either. You are paying a 125 year lease to the actual owners of the land: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.u...

    5. Re:It's a miracle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is this for real and it applies to all londoners? Hahahahahah! Freeholders were the serfs that didn't work their lord's land and were essentially slaves, rather they were free and rented a piece of land until a bad harvest caused them to become the regular type of serf... The more things change the more they remain the same I guess.

  12. Not the fastest in China even by ook_boo · · Score: 1

    There is a regular maglev that operates from Shanghai airport to Pudong that regularly reaches 431 km/h (I know because I took a picture of the speedometer when I took this train last month).

    1. Re:Not the fastest in China even by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I took that maglev back to the airport a few months ago when I left Shanghai.
      Very interesting to ride on it, had a kind of theme park feel to the experience,
      which struck me as part of the problem with it... If you are staying in a Hotel
      any downtown (which is what most people would choose to do) it is completely
      useless. You have to take a long taxi ride to get the station, and the train goes
      along a track that seems to just run along the side of the highway. But you'd
      have to get out of the taxi, get your luggage, go up to the station, buy a ticket,
      wait for the train. And then a few minutes later you are indeed doing 430km/h.
      For a short period anyway. And the train really shakes around a lot, which
      concerned me a bit. The Japan bullet train is smooth as silk in comparison.
      Something isnt quite right there. But the bigger issue is that if I'd just stayed
      in the taxi I think I'd have got to the airport at about the same time. I'm afraid
      it's just a white elephant, an ego trip for the city of Shanghai. Just extending
      the subway out there would have made a heck of a lot more sense and been
      far more useful. But I guess it doesnt do 430km/h..!

    2. Re:Not the fastest in China even by fred6666 · · Score: 1

      You missed the point of that train. The point is NOT taking a cab. It is connected to the subway network, which allows you to go anywhere in the city. Cabs are much more expensive and can be stuck in traffic.

    3. Re:Not the fastest in China even by fred6666 · · Score: 1

      also the regular subway now also reaches pudong airport.

    4. Re:Not the fastest in China even by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Shanghai is supposed to extend the line to People's Square by 2019, then out to Hongqiao by 2021. That would make a cross-town (PVG to SHA)trip about 30 minutes, as opposed to 1.5 (taxi) to 2 (subway line 2) hours.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  13. It's a miracle by Katatsumuri · · Score: 2

    I would count the Chinese huge high speed rail network as one of the modern seven wonders. And they seem to enjoy great economical benefits from it. It is funny how in the game of Civilization, everyone knows to prioritize the roads, but in the real world most countries cannot pull off such huge infrastructure projects with reasonable speed, or at all.

    I hope China does manage to take their rail network global, as planned.

  14. mod parent down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Double-posted by misunderstanding, sorry.

  15. Why Trains Suck in America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amtrack was supposed to revive rail service in America, this video explains why it failed
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mbEfzuCLoAQ

  16. I always feel rejuvenated... by johannesg · · Score: 1

    ...after some good fuxing.

  17. SubjectIsSubject by p0p0 · · Score: 1

    I know everyone is making fun of the name, but let's be serious here. China's track record for public safety is rather poor with things like falling elevators and collapsing escalators, so all things considered I think we need to consider that there is a good chance this train could Fuxing crash!

    1. Re:SubjectIsSubject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know everyone is making fun of the name, but let's be serious here. China's track record for public safety is rather poor with things like falling elevators and collapsing escalators, so all things considered I think we need to consider that there is a good chance this train could Fuxing crash!

      As opposed to the US:

      http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Upper-Darby-Train-Crash-Trolley-SEPTA-Pennsylvania-Injuries-Norristown-High-Speed-Line-Collision-Accident-441357553.html

    2. Re:SubjectIsSubject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      @Grandparent: sauce?

      @Parent: to be fair in the US you're more likely to have legitimate sauce for the info you get. At leas slightly, thought less and less these days.

  18. Woah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's fuxing fast!

  19. The Fuxing Train... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Fuxing train was early again!&%$

  20. Background info concerning the 2011 disaster. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The train crash in 2011 was caused by the chinese decsion to buy a single example of the german Siemens brand track safety system, reverse engineer it with a focus on reducing the supposedly too high price tag and install their high-speed railway line with an "economically" produced domestic copycat. However, the cheap chinese knock-off track safety malfunctioned during a thunderstorm, causing one train to stop autmatically, but the other coming behind continued at full speed and rammed it with tremendous force. Several carriages were hastily buried on site of the disaster during a cover-up op, with some badly injured people still inside. The official death toll should be doubled if you want to come closer to the facts.

    1. Re:Background info concerning the 2011 disaster. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but the other coming behind continued at full speed and rammed it with tremendous force

      "full speed" of 99 kmh wow!
      Fact checking optional on /.?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenzhou_train_collision

  21. Are low wages *that* bad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Of course they are bad... However, they are not the sole indicator of economic health / illness(?)

    As a Mexican, I can tell you I find it *incredible* that my country has an approximately US$5 daily minimum wage. And I know many people do get that wage. That is *certainly* way below any living standard I can think of — IMHO, you need about four "minimum wages" per family to have a non-miserable life.

    But what I mean to point out by posting is that, if you live in a first-world country, it's very hard for you to relate to our numbers. It's not that everything is as expensive as it is for you; I earn about ten minimum wages (that is, around US$50-60 daily), and I manage to be the sole provider for our family, maintaining quite decent living standards, including an international trip every year and many other goodies. Yes, I would fall below the poverty line in the USA, but that does not mean the same here.

    Public transportation is around US20 a trip; a quick lunch at a nonfancy restaurant is US$2-3 (with US$8 for a nice place). Public universities range from being officially free to US$20 per *semester*. Rents of a small-but-nice apartment in a nice neighborhood is ~US$300... Of course, you can get much higher wages than mine, and you can pay as much premium as you can afford. But low salaries do not mean we starve.

    1. Re:Are low wages *that* bad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, in other words Purchasing Power is what counts, not just salary. In Zurich your salary would be extremely difficult for one person to live off, let alone a family.

  22. Sounds about right by Jason1729 · · Score: 1

    So China is resurrecting an ultra-modern rail service that allows people to travel from Shanghai to Beijing in 4.5 hours. This will save a million person-hours a year -- 1 million trips at 1 hour saved per trip.

    Meanwhile the US is resurrecting its coal industry which will save pension plans billions of dollars a year by poisoning people to death younger and make billions of dollars more for the wealth mine owners.

  23. china has cheap copy's of others and safety is pus by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    china has cheap copy's of others and safety is pushed to the side and about wars they are pro North Korea

  24. Bubble by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China has a huge housing bubble because the government pours so much money into construction. This creates a lot of empty unaffordable housing because the average citizen is still quite poor. It's also a big contributer to China's huge debt bubble.

    I do not think that word means what you think it means.

    1. Re:Bubble by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are you talking about? It's obvious what I'm talking about is an economic bubble in a market.

  25. profits? by doctorvo · · Score: 1

    Nearly 600 million people use this route each year, providing a reported $1 billion in profits

    Well, that's the nice thing: government-run enterprises can "report" any profit they like, since they can provide vast amounts of hidden subsidies. For example, $1 billion probably doesn't even account for the rent the land would yield if it was put to other uses.

  26. Not running today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    your Fuxed - have to go back to ammtrack when you can find your neariest station.

  27. I've Fuxing had it... by thegreatbob · · Score: 1

    ... with all these Fuxing puns.

    --
    There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
  28. Risks/benefits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Travels at 250mph, can be derailed by something as simple as a penny on the tracks, killing hundreds... nah, that's not an attractive target for terrorists at all! No problem, just secure the entire track! (It might make more sense to put these underground, where they are not affected by weather.)

  29. propaganda by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

    Way to distribute Chinese propaganda, Slashdot ...

    The Chinese won't pay the dollars it takes to send their kids to highschool (as is the case in most provinces), but exotic trains for the government elite, oh yeah, let's do that.

    A free market would kill this nonsense right away.

    1. Re:propaganda by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Way to distribute Chinese propaganda, Slashdot ... ...but exotic trains for the government elite...

      600 million passengers per year, it's right there in the summary. Unless the word elite means something different where you live...

    2. Re:propaganda by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      >> It's right there in the propaganda

      FTFY

      Hugo Chavez died with $2 billion in his pockets because he wanted to help "the masses". You know better than to fall for this.

    3. Re:propaganda by Gussington · · Score: 1

      >> It's right there in the propaganda FTFY Hugo Chavez died with $2 billion in his pockets because he wanted to help "the masses". You know better than to fall for this.

      I've been to China, I've seen people on the trains with my own eyes.
      But feel free to dismiss reality because it doesn't fit your ideology...

  30. Good Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These are all good problems to have, compared to:
    - No job opportunities
    - Low per capita income
    - Lack of medical technology
    - Lack of basic goods and services ... which China has basically fixed. Economic development is not easy, you always trade some problems for other problems, and the process of fixing these problems is the "development" part. It's a journey, and their commitment to it is admirable.

  31. Their? by antdude · · Score: 1

    "There has been a housing bubble in China but the problem is that nobody can afford to live their." :P

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    1. Re:Their? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Stay pedantic, bro. ;)

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    2. Re:Their? by antdude · · Score: 1

      Thanks, sis. ;)

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).