The attempt will be made using an experimental train
being built by CSR. A CHR380A train, also CSR-built, set a new Chinese
record of 486.1km/h on December 3. This is the highest speed ever
attained by an unmodified production train.
The
current record of 574.8km/h was set by the V150 test train on TGV Est
on April 4 2007, smashing the previous record of 515.3km/h, which was
also achieved in France 17 years earlier. If successful China will
become the first Asian country to hold the title since Japan lost the
record to France in 1981.
The production version of the CRH380,
the CRH380B, train reached 357km/h on December 5 during test running on
the completed section of the Beijing - Shanghai high-speed line. The
first 11 production trains are due to roll out of CNR's Tangshan plant
later this month.
CNR is supplying a fleet of 70
16-car trains. CRH380B has a design speed of 400km/h, an operating
speed of 350km/h, and a maximum output of 18.4MW with half the cars
powered.
The train has a new interior design and
four classes: sightseeing, grand, first and second, plus a dining car.
Each train seats 1026 passengers.
CRH380B has
improved aerodynamics by enclosing the inter-car bellows with rubber
pieces and enclosing the bogies more than on CRH3.
