China debuts high speed trains

China began running trains that can reach speeds of 200 kilometers per hour Wednesday, joining a small group of nations capable of operating high speed locomotives, AFP reported. The first of 140 new trains left Shanghai station at 5.38am, traveling 80km to Suzhou. The total number of trains is expected to rise to 257 by the end of the year. Running at 200-250kph, they will expand national railway passenger capacity by 18%, or 340,000 seats a day. However, only six thousand kilometers of track will be able to cope with the trains traveling at full speed. The maximum speed will be 160kph on 14,000km of track, and just 120kph on another 22,000km of the rail network. By 2020, China hopes to have 13,000km of track able to carry the trains at full speed. Much of the technology used in the trains has come through transfer agreements with Japan's Mitsubishi-Kawasaki, Canada's Bombardier, Germany's Siemens and France's Alstom.