China intends not to uplift the top speed of high-speed railways to 350 kilometers per hour (km/h), according to Huang Qiang, chief researcher of China Academy of Railway Science. Huang noted that no high-speed railways abroad can be operated at a speed of 350 km/h, and China's high-speed railways boast the highest speed of 310 km/h at present.
In fact, from 2009 to 2010, the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railways have been operated at a speed of 350 km/h. "Technically speaking, the 350 km/h speed is realizable," said Huang Qiang.
However, the operational costs will increase correspondently due to energy consumption and frictional wear. Hence, these problems need further exploration. "In market-oriented economy, if speed uplifting increases operational costs, ticket price will be raised accordingly," noted Huang.
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