Mar. 8 – China has announced plans to develop a three-pronged high speed rail network that will expand its own tracks to a further seventeen countries throughout Asia and stretch as far as Europe.
Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has said that China was in negotiations with several countries to develop rail networks developed to China’s national specifications, and that the network would be financed on the basis of trade for the technology.
The plans include Southeast Asia, with a network to run south from Kunming through Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia on the way to Singapore and west across to Myanmar and India.
A western network would run from Urumqi through Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, possibly connecting through Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey through to Germany.
The third spur would leave Heilongjiang, cross Mongolia, Russia and head west across Siberia on the way to Europe. China and Russia have already agreed to build a high speed rail line across Siberia.
However, logistics problems still have to be worked out. Not all countries operate the same gauge rail as China’s high speed trains, and the cost would be enormous – high speed track is three times more expensive than conventional rail and all routes would require new track to be laid. In order to take part in the increased trade such routes would bring, some countries are prepared to offer trade incentives in exchange for financial backing on the high speed routes. Myanmar, for example, is apparently prepared to offer rich reserves of lithium, a metal with many industrial applications in computing.
The routes also go hand in hand with some of the oil and gas pipelines heading into China from Siberia and Central Asia. China expects trade and commerce to develop significantly in the Western regions with the establishment of mines, factories, and business centers throughout Xinjiang Province and Central Asia as the routes assist sustainable development in the region.
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I think the Chinese have found the answer to finding work for their people for the next generation at least.
When the Chinese have finished those railway lines mentioned they could then have the extend the German one to Switzerland, Italy and all the way down to the Rep. of S. Africa. That would help Africa for transport and trade. After that, by that stage global warming would have warmed up the Arctic and the US finally passing legislation and purchasing enough land for the Chinese to lay tracks through North and South America with two lines going through the Mid-West and the East Coast all the way down to Chile and Argentina.
“All” railroads lead to Middle Kingdom? I have this picture in my head, circa 2040, of the Station Master of Beijing Zhan MainLine Station having a huge office with computers, maps and screens and the staff to monitor and schedule this massive aggregate fast railway.
I would not be surprise if they found a way to lay track across to Australia.