China Railway High-speed


China Railway High-speed is a high-speed rail service operated by China Railway in addition to China Railway's older Classic Rail services.
The introduction of CRH series was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup, implemented on April 18, 2007. By the end of 2020, China Railway High-speed provided service to all provinces in China, and operated just under passenger tracks in length, accounting for about two-thirds of the world's high-speed rail tracks in commercial service. China has revealed plans to extend the HSR to 70,000 km by year 2035. It is the world's most extensively used railway service, with 2.29 billion bullet train trips delivered in 2019 and 2.16 billion trips in 2020, bringing the total cumulative number of trips to 13 billion as of 2020.
Over 1000 sets of rolling stock are operated under the CRH brand including Hexie CRH1/2A/5 that are designed to have a maximum speed of, and CRH2C/3 have a maximum speed of. The indigenous designed CRH380A have a maximum test speed of with commercial operation speed of 350 km/h. The fastest train set, CRH380BL, attained a maximum test speed of. In 2017, the China Standardized EMU brand including CR400AF/BF and CR200J joined China Railway High-speed and are designated as Fuxing together with letters CR. With a gradual plan, the CR brand is going to replace the current CRH brand in service.
Depending on their speed, there are 3 categories of high speed trains, G, D and C.

High-speed rail network

High-speed rail services were first introduced in 2007 operating with CRH rolling stock. Those run on existing lines that have been upgraded to speeds of up to and on newer dedicated high-speed track rated up to.
China will continue to operate the largest high-speed rail network in the world by the end of 2021, with a length of over 40,000 km. Beijing to Hong Kong High Speed Railway, the longest HSR route in the world, stretches 2,440 km.

CRH service on dedicated high-speed lines

CRH service on upgraded conventional lines

As of September 2010, there were of upgraded conventional railways in China that can accommodate trains running speeds of 200 to 250 km/h. Over time with the completion of the national high-speed passenger-dedicated rail network, more CRH service will shift from these lines to the high-speed dedicated lines.
A. Intercity service :
B. Long-haul service :
  • Beijing – Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin
  • Beijing – Jinan, Qingdao, Shanghai
  • Beijing – Zhengzhou, Wuhan
  • Shanghai – Zhengzhou, Qingdao, Shenyang
  • Shanghai – Nanchang
  • Wuhan – Changsha – Guangzhou
Table:CRH service on conventional rail lines----
The table below lists the upgraded conventional railways that run CRH high-speed trains every day.

Overnight high-speed trains

Unlike the "conventional", which run round the clock, most high-speed rail lines operations shut down each night. There are several sleeper EMU services running on the upgraded rail or high-speed lines operated with CRH1E and CRH2E trains.
Conventional higher-speed Z-series overnight rail services may also use certain sections of the high-speed rail network; e.g., the planned Shanghai-Chengdu train Z121/2/3/4 will use the Huhanrong PDL from Nanjing to Wuhan.
With the schedule change planned for December 21, 2012, some of these trainsets will be re-purposed to also provide overnight high-speed service between Shanghai and Xi'an North. In the 2014, Chunyun season, overnight HSR trains first ran on Beijing-Guangzhou and other lines.
In November 2016, CRRC Changchun unveiled CRH5E bullet train carriages with sleeper berths. Made in the CRRC factory in Changchun and nicknamed Panda, they are capable of running at 250 km/h, operate at -40 degrees Celsius, have Wi-Fi hubs and contain sleeper berths that fold into seats during the day. In 2017, CRRC unveiled a high speed train with double decked sleeper "capsules" classed as the CRH2E series high speed rail train.
On January 5, 2019, the CR200J entered service replacing many locomotive-hauled trains.

Rolling stock

China Railway High-speed runs different electric multiple unit trainsets, the name Hexie Hao is for designs which are imported from other nations and designated CRH-1 through CRH-5 and CRH380A, CRH380B, and CRH380C. CRH trainsets are intended to provide fast and convenient travel between cities. Some of the Hexie Hao train sets are manufactured locally through technology transfer, a key requirement for China. The signalling, track and support structures, control software, and station design are developed domestically with foreign elements as well. By 2010, the track system as a whole is predominantly Chinese. China currently holds many new patents related to the internal components of these trains, re-designed to allow the trains to run at higher speeds than the foreign designs allowed. However, these patents are only valid within China, and as such hold no international power. The weakness on intellectual property of Hexie Hao causes obstructions for China to export its high-speed rail related products, which lead to the development of the completely redesigned train brand called Fuxing Hao, based on indigenous technologies.
The trainsets are as follows:
;Hexie :
  • CRH1 produced by Bombardier Transportation's joint venture Sifang Power Transportation, CRH1A, and CRH1B, nicknamed "Metro" or "Bread", derived from Bombardier's Regina; CRH1E, nicknamed "Lizard", is Bombardier's ZEFIRO 250 design
  • * CRH1A: sets consists of 8 cars; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • * CRH1B: a modified 16-car version; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • * CRH1E: a 16-car high-speed sleeper version; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • CRH2: nicknamed "Hairtail", derived from E2 Series 1000 Shinkansen
  • * CRH2A: In 2006, China unveiled CRH2, a modified version of the Japanese Shinkansen E2-1000 series. An order for 60 8-car sets had been placed in 2004, with the first few built in Japan, the rest produced by Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock in China.
  • * CRH2B: a modified 16-car version of CRH2; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • * CRH2C : a modified version of CRH2 with a maximum operating speed up to 300 km/h as a result of replacing two intermediate trailer cars with motored cars
  • * CRH2C : a modified version of CRH2C has a maximum operating speed up to 350 km/h by using more powerful motors
  • * CRH2E: a modified 16-car version of CRH2 with sleeping cars
  • CRH3: nickname "Rabbit", derived from Siemens ICE3 ; 8-car sets; maximum operating speed of 350 km/h
  • CRH5A: derived from Alstom Pendolino ETR600; 8-car sets; maximum operating speed of 250 km/h
  • CRH6: designed by CSR Puzhen and CSR Sifang, will be manufactured by CSR Jiangmen. It is designed to have two versions: one with a top operating speed of 220 km/h; the other with a top operating speed of 160 km/h. They will be used on 200 km/h or 250 km/h Inter-city High Speed Rail lines; planned to enter service by 2011
  • CRH380A; Maximum operating speed of 380 km/h. Developed by CSR based on CRH2 and manufactured by Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock; entered service in 2010
  • * CRH380A: 8-car version
  • * CRH380AL: 16-car version
  • CRH380B: upgraded version of CRH3; maximum operating speed of 380 km/h, manufactured by Tangshan Railway Vehicle and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles; entered service in 2011
  • * CRH380B: 8-car version
  • * CRH380BL: 16-car version
  • CRH380CL: designed and manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles. Maximum operating speed of 380 km/h; entered service in 2012
  • CRH380D: also named Zefiro 380; maximum operating speed of 380 km/h, manufactured by Bombardier Sifang Transportation Ltd.; entered service in 2012
  • *CRH380D: 8-car version
  • * CRH380DL: 16-car version
CRH1A, B, E, CRH2A, B, E, and CRH5A are designed for a maximum operating speed of 200 km/h and can reach up to 250 km/h. CRH3C and CRH2C designs have an MOR of 300 km/h, and can reach up to 350 km/h, with a top testing speed of more than 380 km/h. However, issues such as maintenance costs, comfort, and safety make the maximum speed of more than 380 km/h impractical and remain limiting factors.
;Fuxing :
  • CR450AF: Maximum operating speed of 400 km/h; Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • CR450BF: Maximum operating speed of 400 km/h; Developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • CR400AF: Maximum operating speed of 350 km/h; Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • * CR400AF: 8-car version
  • * CR400AF-A: 16-car version
  • * CR400AF-B: 17-car version
  • CR400BF: Maximum operating speed of 350 km/h; Developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • * CR400BF: 8-car version
  • * CR400BF-A: 16-car version
  • * CR400BF-B: 17-car version
  • CR300AF: Maximum operating speed of 250 km/h; Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • CR300BF: Maximum operating speed of 250 km/h; Developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, guided by Chinese EMU standard.
  • CR200J: Maximum operating speed of 160 km/h; Developed by CRRC Nanjing Puzhen, CRRC Qingdao Sifang, CRRC Tangshan, CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, CRRC Datong and CRRC Dalian.
Equipment typeTop speed in testDesigned speedSeating capacityFormationPower
Entry into Service
CRH1A250668 or 649 or 6455M3T5,300 kW2007
CRH1B250129910M6T11,000 kW2009
CRH1E250618 or 64210M6T11,000 kW2009
CRH2A250610 or 5884M4T4,800 kW2007
CRH2B25012308M8T9,600 kW2008
CRH2C Stage 13006106M2T7,200 kW2008
CRH2C Stage 23506106M2T8,760 kW2010
CRH2E2506308M8T9,600 kW2008
CRH3C350600 or 5564M4T8,800 kW2008
CRH5A250622 or 586 or 5705M3T5,500 kW2007
CRH380A3804946M2T9,600 kW2010
CRH380AL380102714M2T20,440 kW2010
CRH380B3805564M4T9,200 kW2011
CRH380BL38010048M8T18,400 kW2010
CRH380CL3808M8T19,200 kW2012
CRH380D3804954M4T10,000 kW2012
CRH380DL38010138M8T20,000 kWCanceled
CRH62205864M4Tunknown2011
CR400AF4005564M4T2017
CR400BF4005564M4T2017
CR400AF-A40011938M8T2018
CR400BF-A40011938M8T2018
CR400AF-B40012838M9T2019
CR400BF-B40012838M9T2019
CR200J215 km/h200720
1102
Mc+7T+Tc
Mc+16T+Mc
Mc+9~16T+Mc
2019
CR300AF3006134M4T2020
CR300BF3006134M4T2020