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China to relaunch one of world’s fastest bullet trains:
Context
- After cutting back the speed of the Beijing to Shanghai bullet train following a deadly crash, China is set to relaunch it again.
The world’s fastest bullet train
- New generation trains will service the route starting next month, making the 1,250-km journey from the capital to Shanghai in just 4 hours, 30 minutes.
- The latest trains were unveiled in June and have a top speed of 400 kmph.
- China first ran trains at 350 kmph in August 2008, but cut speeds back to 250 – 300 kmph in 2011 following a train collision near the city of Wenzhou that killed 40 people and injured 191.
- China has laid more than 20,000 km of high-speed rail, with a target of adding another 10,000 km by 2020.
- China has spent an estimated $360 billion on high-speed rail, building by far the largest network in the world.
