Over the past decade, China has built 25,000 km of dedicated highspeed railway—more than the rest of the world combined. What can we learn from this remarkable experience? China’s High-Speed Rail Development examines the Chinese experience to draw lessons for countries considering investing in high-speed rail. The report scrutinizes the planning and delivery mechanisms that enabled the rapid construction of the high-speed rail system. It highlights the role of long-term planning, consistent plan execution, and a joint venture structure that ensures active participation of provincial and local governments in project planning and financing. Traffic on China’s high-speed trains has grown to 1.7 billion passengers a year. The study examines the characteristics of the markets for which high-speed rail is competitive in China. It discusses the pricing and service design considerations that go into making high-speed rail services competitive with other modes and factors such as good urban connectivity that make the service attractive to customers. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Chinese experience is the rapid pace of high-quality construction. The report looks at the role of strong capacity development within and cooperation among China Railway Corporation, rail manufacturers, universities, research institutions, laboratories, and engineering centers that allowed for rapid technological advancement and localization of technology. It describes the project delivery structures and incentives for delivering quality and timely results. Finally, the report analyzes the financial and economic sustainability of the investment in high-speed rail. It finds that a developing country can price high-speed rail services affordably and still achieve financial viability, but this requires very high passenger density. Economic viability similarly depends on high passenger density.

The story of the world's most audacious infrastructure project. Less than a decade ago, China did not have a single high-speed train in service. Today, it owns a network of 14,000 miles of high-speed rail, far more than the rest of the world combined. Now, China is pushing its tracks into Southeast Asia, reviving a century-old colonial fantasy of an imperial railroad stretching to Singapore; and kicking off a key piece of the One Belt One Road initiative, which has a price tag of $1 trillion and, reaches inside the borders of more than 60 countries. The Pan-Asia Railway portion of One Belt One Road could transform Southeast Asia, bringing shiny Chinese cities, entire economies, and waves of migrants where none existed before. But if it doesn't succeed, that would be a cautionary tale about whether a new superpower, with levels of global authority unimaginable just a decade ago, can pull entire regions into its orbit simply with tracks, sweat, and lots of money. Journalist Will Doig traveled to Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore tochronicle the dramatic transformations taking place -- and to find out whether ordinary people have a voice in this moment of economic, political, and cultural collision.

Incorporates More Than 25 Years of Research and ExperienceRailway Transportation Systems: Design, Construction and Operation presents a comprehensive overview of railway passenger and freight transport systems, from design through to construction and operation. It covers the range of railway passenger systems, from conventional and high speed inter

For more than four decades, the Atlanta Northern Railway transported passengers between Atlanta and Marietta. The Atlanta Northern, owned by a precursor of Georgia Power, provided an invaluable transportation link for workers employed by industries along the line. Little remains of the former Atlanta-to-Marietta line, its right-of- way obliterated by modern development and its history largely forgotten. Todd DeFeo is the author of several railroad history books, including the first-ever complete histories of the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville and the Indiana, Alabama & Texas; and Western & Atlantic railroads.

Learn about car mechanics and teamwork as three unlikely friends work to build a miniature racer. In How to Build a Car, three unlikely friends--Eli, a mouse; Phoebe, a sparrow; and Hank, a frog--decide to build a small motorcar together. The story follows the friendly trio as they learn all about how a car works and how it is constructed. Detailed illustrations show the inner workings of the car, teaching children the basics of how each part works together to get the car moving. Through hard work and perseverance, Eli, Phoebe, and Hank learn about both car mechanics and teamwork as they build a miniature racer. With the help of this sweet story, children will learn the different parts and functions of a car.

High-speed turnouts, a key technology for high-speed railways, have a great influence on the safe and stable running of high-speed trains. Design of High-Speed Railway Turnouts: Theory and Applications, comprehensively introduces the technical characteristics and requirements of high-speed turnouts, including design theories and methods of turnout layout geometry, wheel and rail relations, track stiffness, welded turnout, turnout conversion, turnout components, and manufacture and laying technologies of turnouts. Analyzing the operational problems of China's high-speed turnout in particular, this book discusses the control of structure irregularity, state irregularity, geometrical irregularity and dynamic irregularity during the design, manufacture, laying, and maintenance of turnouts. At the end of this reference book, the author provides high-speed turnouts management methods, maintenance standards, testing and monitoring technology, and maintenance technology. Design of High-Speed Railway Turnouts: Theory and Applications will enable railway technicians all over the world to develop an in-depth knowledge of the design, manufacture, laying, and maintenance technology of high-speed turnouts. - The first book in the world to focus explicitly on high-speed turnouts, including design, construction, maintenance and management of high speed turnouts - Expounds the theory of vehicle-turnout system coupling dynamics in detail, aligning this with several examples of computation, and examines the results of dynamic experiments which validate the theory - Written by Ping Wang, who is recognized as a leading researcher and main developer of high-speed turnouts in China

Translations of scientific and technical monographs and articles.

The technological revolution linked to high speed rail (HSR) has been accompanied by myths and claims about its contribution to society and the economy. Although HSR is unquestionably a technological advance that has become a symbol of modernity, this review and analysis of the international experiences shows that the conditions necessary to have a positive impact, economically, socially and environmentally, are enormously restrictive. The Economics and Politics of High Speed Rail: Lessons from Experiences Abroad, by Daniel Albalate and Germà Bel, introduces the main questions policy makers and scholars should examine when considering and studying HSR implementation, with particular emphasis on the US’s recent interest in this technology and possible application in California. Albalate and Bel then review the experiences of the most significant implementations of HSR around the globe. This in-depth international perspective includes chapters on the pioneers of HSR (Japan and France), the European followers (Germany, Spain and Italy), as well as Asian experiences in China, Taiwan, and Korea. Albalate and Bel’s study provides a clear distinction between the myths and realities associated with this transportation innovation. Among the most relevant findings, this study highlights how HSR projects that do not satisfy highly restrictive conditions—on mobility patterns, measured costs, and economically rational designs—that make it desirable have been the source of huge financial debacles and the economic failure of HSR in most cases, which result in unfortunate consequences for taxpayers. The Economics and Politics of High Speed Rail is a rigorous investigation of the economic and political challenges and ramifications of implementing new public transportation technology.