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-Short Attention Span Theater-
China Cuts High Speed Train Speed
2011-04-15
China's rail minister said the nation's high-speed trains will run at a slower pace than previously announced, to make journeys safer and more affordable.
Slower is safer? What about 55 mph?
The new high-speed trains will run no faster than any of the other high-speed trains in the world 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour instead of the current top speed of 350 kilometres per hour, Sheng Guangzu said in an interview posted Thursday on the ministry's website.
The speed reduction should save about 36% in energy costs. Ya know, Velocity squared.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Sheng's comments come after the fall in February of railways minister Liu Zhijun, who allegedly took more than 800 million yuan ($122 million) in kickbacks on contracts linked to expanding China's high-speed rail network.
Commodore Vanderbilt would be proud!
The change will make operations of high-speed railways safer and train tickets more affordable, Sheng said, following complaints over pricing.

"We must manage the scale of construction reasonably. There should be some overstepping in construction of railway, but not too much," he was quoted as saying.
Build it for 400 kph; you can always speed it up later.
Sheng said China is investing 2.8 trillion yuan of US dollars between 2011 and 2015 in construction of new railway lines of about 30,000 kilometres. China has invested heavily in its high-speed rail network, which reached 8,358 kilometres at the end of 2010 and is expected to exceed 13,000 kilometres by 2012 and 16,000 kilometres by 2020.
Posted by:Bobby

#4  At last check, CHINA was having serious problems wid discovery of defective materials + corrupt internal, Party-Company kickbacks for profit.

IMO they're slowing the trains down as a safety precaution - not an easy thing for the CPC to do considering all the hoopla as per PARTY, NATIONAL PRESTIGE linked to its development.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-04-15 20:28  

#3  Both are correct.
Velocity vs Power: V^3
Velocity vs Energy: V^2
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685   2011-04-15 16:05  

#2  I thought it was "power increases with the cube of speed."
Posted by: Mike   2011-04-15 15:54  

#1  Hmm. The bullet trains near here top out at like 258kph, so I hope we're not affected. I'm taking one next week! Used to be a 3 1/2 hour car trip over bumpy ass roads full of unsafe trucks. Now it's 100 minutes of comfort.
Posted by: gromky   2011-04-15 13:42  

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