China's railway tech is 'mature and safe'
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China's high-speed railway technology is not inferior to any other country's in safety and sophistication, senior officials said on Aug. 11, 2010.
Bullet trains running from 250 to 350 km per hour have operated for accumulated trips of 280 million km in the country so far, Su Shunhu, deputy chief of the transport bureau of the Ministry of Railways, said at a news conference.
"This shows that our high-speed railway technology is mature and safe," he said.
The words came after continuous denouncements from a Japanese high-speed rail company, which is competing with China for overseas business.
The Financial Times reported in April that Yoshiyuki Kasai, chairman of Central Japan Railway Co (JR Central), which is the operator of Japan's oldest and busiest bullet train, denounced China's growing high-speed rail industry for compromising safety and stealing foreign technology.
On July 27, Yoshiomi Yamada, president of JR Central, compared Japan's maglev train to an iPad while calling the Shanghai maglev train a toy, reported the Kyodo News. But in fact, the Shanghai train uses sophisticated Siemens technology, according to earlier media reports.
Li Jun, a spokesman for the railway ministry's transport bureau, said the accusations are groundless, suggesting their words are more of a competition strategy in pursuit of their own interests.
"China's high-speed railways have met all international requirements concerning safety.
Can they (JR Central) provide evidence to show we fail to meet any safety standard?" he said.
Some 355 bullet trains are zipping between China's major cities each day, including 121 bullet trains at a speed of 350 km per hour.
China's trains have the highest speeds in the world, he said.
In comparison, the operating speed in France is 320 km per hour, while in Germany and Japan, the speed is 300 km per hour. Japan is upgrading an existing rail line to raise the speed to 320 km per hour, he said.
