China To Order 60 Bullet Trains From Japan: Reports

ECONOPLEX

The Hayate-model bullet trains (pictured) , which run in northern Japan, were introduced in 2002 and operate at a speed of about 275 kilometers (172 miles) per hour.

Tokyo, Nov 21 (AFP) Nov 21, 2005
China will order 60 bullet trains from a Japanese consortium led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries as Beijing turns to both Japanese and German firms to expand its rail network, reports said Monday.

The railways ministry will buy 60 bullet trains from the Kawasaki-led consortium to run in China as early as 2008, the Yomiuri Shimbun said on its evening edition.

The orders will be placed as part of a project to increase the speed of China's trains, Kyodo News said, citing industry sources.

Kawasaki had no immediate comment on the reported deal, the value of which was not specified.

The report said China, looking to introduce high-speed trains, had chosen to buy half in the form of Japan's "Hayate" bullet train system and half from a system run by German engineering giant Siemens.

Siemens said last week that it had won a contract to supply 60 high-speed trains to China and put the value of its deal at 700 million eurosmillion dollars).

The Hayate-model bullet trains, which run in northern Japan, were introduced in 2002 and operate at a speed of about 275 kilometers (172 miles) per hour.

State media in China has said Beijing wants to use foreign technology to set up a high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai, which will help overcome serious transport bottlenecks.

Japanese politicians and business leaders have aggressively courted their Chinese counterparts to win the contract.

The sale has also been politically sensitive at a time when relations between China and Japan are at their lowest level in decades in part over memories of World War II.

Japan has reportedly offered to include the bullet train deal as part of its final low-interest loans to China.

Japan plans to end such loans -- which have been seen as indirect compensation for its wartime record on the mainland -- before Beijing hosts the Olympics in 2008.

Japan's bullet train was introduced before the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, showcasing the country's rapid technological advances since its defeat in World War II.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

SINO DAILY

GE Wins Deal To Supply 300 Train Locomotives To China

Washington (AFP) Nov 01, 2005
US conglomerate General Electric Co. said Tuesday it had won a big contract to supply 300 train locomotives to China to help in the booming country's bid to modernise its vast rail network.