Harbin–Dalian high-speed railway
| Beijing–Harbin high-speed railway
Harbin–Dalian Section | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native name | 京哈高速铁路哈大段 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | China Railway China Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations | 23[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | High-speed rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | China Railway High-speed China Railway High-speed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | CRH380BG | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | December 1, 2012; 12 years ago (2012年12月01日) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 904 km (562 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of tracks | 2 (Double-track) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius | 7,000 m (23,000 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC (Overhead line) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating speed |
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The Harbin–Dalian high-speed railway or Hada High-Speed Railway (Chinese: 哈大高速铁路; pinyin: Hādà Gāosù Tiělù) is a high-speed rail line connecting Harbin, Heilongjiang and Dalian, Liaoning. Construction work began on August 23, 2007 and the first commercial services began operating in December 1, 2012,[2] nearly one year behind schedule.[3] [4] The line is the world's first alpine high-speed railway operating at high latitudes and low temperatures in winter.[5] The trains can continue operating even with snow on the line and the tracks are fitted with de-icing technology. The project cost CN\95 billion, which was 25% more than the original budget.[6]
At the time of completion, the railway was the northernmost high-speed line in China. The climate of northeast China poses a challenge to the design; parts of the line had to be rebuilt before the opening due to deformation caused by frost heaving.[7] Eventually, it was decided that the route could be opened for commercial services on December 1, 2012; however, during winters (December through March) it operates a winter timetable, with the maximum running speed of 250 km/h (160 mph). In summer, the service runs an expanded timetable with services running at a higher speed of up to 350 km/h (220 mph).[6] However, the line has a design speed of up to 350 km/h (220 mph).[1] The summer high-speed services also have higher ticket prices than the slower winter service; however, some trains continue to run all year at the 250 km/h (160 mph) speed and lower price, giving travellers a choice of speed versus ticket price.
Under the winter timetable, the 921 km (572 mi) journey from Dalian to Harbin takes five hours eighteen minutes. In summer, the higher speeds reduce the journey time to just three and a half hours.[8]
Test runs along the entire railway started on October 8, 2012.[9] These were restricted to the winter service speed of 250 km/h (160 mph). The first commercial passenger services started on December 1, 2012 with two trains leaving simultaneously, one from Dalian and the other from the new Harbin West station. During the first 52 days of operation, the line transported 2.856 million passengers.[10] By the end of March, there had been 9.4 million passenger trips on the line, an average of 78,000 per day. During the four weeks of the Chinese spring festival, passengers reached peaks of 164,000 per day.[11]
Testing of services at the increased summer speed of 350 km/h (220 mph) began in April 2013 after a delay of one month.[11] Commercial services on the summer schedule began on the April 21st, 2013.[8] The line operates 67 pairs of CRH380BG type alpine EMU trains.[9] These have been specially modified for the Hada railway which must cope with temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) in winter. Extra insulation has been added within the skin of the carriages and even the vacuum toilets have been modified to operate in this extreme cold.
The track has been specially designed to cope with extremes in temperature. In winter, the temperatures on the route can fall to −40 °C (−40 °F) while in summer they can reach 40 °C (104 °F). This large change in temperature can cause frost heave. As the water in the ground freezes in winter, it expands. In summer the ice melts and water drains causing shrinkage. This creates distortion on the ground surface that ordinary high speed railway lines could not cope with. To combat frost heave, 70% of the line is constructed above the ground surface on viaducts. During construction, about 20 percent of the track that had been built directly on the ground had to be redesigned and rebuilt due to frost damage. This delayed the opening of the line by about a year.[7]
Stations
[edit ]See also
[edit ]- Asia Express
- South Manchuria Railway, about the early history of the railways in the same corridor
- Beijing–Harbin high-speed railway
- Beijing–Shenyang high-speed railway
- Panjin–Yingkou high-speed railway
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c 哈大高铁12月1日开通运营(图) (in Chinese). Huochepiao. 2012年11月25日. Retrieved 2013年08月24日.
- ^ "Harbin-Dalian high-speed train begins operation". Xinhua. 2012年12月01日. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved 2013年08月23日.
- ^ "First high speed railway in northeast China to open in 2011". Xinhua. 2010年12月28日. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved 2012年09月27日.
- ^ "Ha'erbin-Dalian high-speed railway to be open to traffic". DalianNews. 2012年02月16日. Archived from the original on 2013年09月27日. Retrieved 2012年09月27日.
- ^ "Harbin-Dalian High-speed train begins operation". CCTV. 2012年12月01日. Archived from the original on 2013年12月03日. Retrieved 2013年08月23日.
- ^ a b "Speed increase on Harbin to Dalian rail line delayed". Southern China Morning Post. 2013年03月24日. Retrieved 2013年08月23日.
- ^ a b Bai, Tiantian (2012年09月04日). "High speed rail may need to be rebuilt". People's Daily Online. Retrieved 2012年09月27日.
- ^ a b "Harbin–Dalian high-speed railway starts summer schedule". Xinhua. 2013年04月21日. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013年08月24日.
- ^ a b 哈大高铁预计本月25日开通(组图) (in Chinese). Suhu. 2012年11月20日. Retrieved 2013年08月24日.
- ^ Liu, Tongyang (2013年01月24日). 沈阳铁路局党委书记:京沈高铁有望年内正式开工 (in Chinese). Fenghuang Wang. Retrieved 2013年08月24日.
- ^ a b "Harbin-Dalian high-speed rail to reach 300 km/h". China Daily. 2013年04月11日. Retrieved 2013年08月24日.