Presented a few days ago by the China State Railway Group, the CR450 has great ambitions: a top speed of 450 km/h in testing and a commercial speed of 400 km/h. In comparison, current CR400 trains top out at 350 km/h, and the TGV at a maximum of 300 km/h – even if the French high-speed train holds a record at 570 km/h.
At full speed
This new rail car promises to reduce the journey between Beijing and Shanghai to just 2.5 hours to cover 1,200 kilometers. But beyond the numbers, the CR450 features a host of innovations that make it as efficient as it is efficient. It is 10% lighter, reduces its operational resistance by 22% and features a design designed to cut through the air, with a sharp nose and ultra-aerodynamic windshields. In short, everything is done so that it slides on the rails like a knife through butter.
But the CR450 isn’t just about speed. This new train also ticks all the boxes in terms of comfort and safety. It incorporates a water-cooled permanent magnet traction system, redesigned bogies (the chassis that supports the wheels) and more than 4,000 sensors to monitor its performance in real time. Enough to reassure the most cautious passengers.
Chinese engineers have also taken care of the user experience: less noise (reduction of 2 decibels inside) and a service space increased by 4%. On the safety front, the CR450 features multi-layer emergency braking and an advanced system that detects critical situations.
However, reaching such crazy speeds is not without constraints. The tracks must be impeccably aligned, with particularly wide curves. For example, a train traveling at 400 km/h needs a radius of curvature of 11 kilometers to maintain its speed. Enough to pose some challenges for engineers.
With more than 47,000 kilometers of high-speed lines, China also exports its know-how. In Indonesia, the Jakarta-Bandung line, built with Chinese technologies, transported 4 million passengers in less than a year. In Serbia, the Belgrade-Novi Sad line, also Chinese, is celebrating its two-year anniversary and continues to improve local connectivity.
These projects illustrate Chinese ambitions to dominate the global rail market, and the CR450 could well be their next flagship product. While waiting for its entry into service, tests will multiply to refine the final details.
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