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Russia and China establish Research Centre for development of high-speed trains

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A discussion on the topic “High-Speed Main Line Eurasia, Geopolitics and Technologies” was held in the framework of the forum "Transport of Russia 2017".

The event took place in Moscow and was attended by representatives of the expert and scientific community and machine-building and design organisations, as well as managers from Russian Railways.

Participants discussed the implementation of initiatives by Russia and China to create a high-speed Eurasia transport corridor at a time when the transport industry is undergoing digital transformation.

"Imagine the movement of freight and passengers from the border of China to the border of Europe in just one day, or from any city in China or South-East Asia to any city in Europe in two or three days. We have done a preliminary feasibility study of the project and concluded that the construction would take 8 years. Without a doubt, the creation of the high-speed network is a great technological challenge," said Alexander Misharin, First Deputy CEO of OJSC Russian Railways.

The total length of the Beijing-Moscow-Berlin line will be about 9,500 kilometres, including 6,700 km of newly constructed lines and 2,300 km across Russia.

By integrating the transport systems of the countries of Asia, Russia and the European Union, the largest high-speed network in the world will be created and have a total length of more than 50,000 km.

The participants of the discussion noted that the implementation of this global project is impossible without the use of modern information technologies and the principles of the "Digital Railway" concept.

The "Digital Railway" concept was developed by OJSC Russian Railways and assumes the wide application of technologies such as the Internet of Things, Big Data, Virtual and Augmented Reality and Digital Modelling and Building Information Modelling (BIM) for the creation of linear infrastructure facilities.

"The organisation of transcontinental freight and passenger traffic requires the creation of a multi-purpose terminal infrastructure along the freight route, with the possibility of providing the entire range of logistics services, door-to-door freight delivery. Important features of the terminals will be their integration into functional multimodal transport hubs and the use of so-called seamless technologies. Multipurpose intermodal terminals using modern technologies will lead to a reduction of up to 70% of non-productive costs, and that in turn means increased efficiency," said Alexander Misharin.

At the event, the opening ceremony was held of the Russian-Chinese Scientific and Educational Centre for the development of rolling stock and the interaction between rolling stock and rail transport infrastructure.

The Centre has been established at the Moscow State University of Railways, in conjunction with the Chinese machine building corporation CRRC and leading scientific institutions involved in rail transport.

It has been set up in order to conduct joint research and training in the development of rolling stock for high-speed railways.

"This is an important event that will unite the efforts of scientists and developers of China's universities and China’s leading railway engineering company CRRC with Russian universities and science. The creation of new rolling stock capable of speeds of up to 400 kph and more, using modern technologies in the field of energy efficiency, the environment and noise, improving the quality of services and comfort for passengers based on modern digital technologies, the use of new materials and implementing new solutions – all these are enormous tasks. We firmly believe that the Centre will become the basis for the development of these technologies in the future," said Alexander Misharin.