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