On October 21, China’s 400 kilometers per hour cross-border
interconnection high-speed EMU rolled off the assembly line at CRRC Tangshan. Adopting
the world's first high-speed variable gauge bogie with a speed of 400
kilometers per hour and a built-in axle box bogie, the train can realize
automatic track change on different railway gauge lines in countries such as
Asia, Europe and Africa, and can continuously operate at a speed of 400km/h from
-25℃ to 50℃. Characterized by high
speed, low energy consumption, good comfort and strong environmental
adaptability, EMU meets the requirements of different countries’ gauges,
different power supply systems and different operating environments. It provides
strong technical support for China’s Railway's “Go Global” and “Transportation
Power” Strategy.
According to reports, the cross-border interconnection high-speed
EMUs with a speed of 400 kilometers per hour is a key special project of the
Ministry of Science and Technology in the 13th Five-Year Plan. This
project is organized by CRRC, and CRRC Tangshan is responsible for such
researches as the adaptability of wheel-rail relationship, bow-network
relationship and cross-border interconnection, variable-gauge bogies and
multi-standard traction of the 400 km/h high-speed EMU under complex
conditions.
Since the official launch of the project in November 2016, CRRC
Tangshan has successfully developed a 400-kilometer-per-hour cross-border
interconnected high-speed EMU after four years of technical research and
development with a number of domestic enterprises, universities, and scientific
research institutes, relying on the national high-speed train innovation
technology platform, and CRRC Tangshan had mastered more than 10 core key
technologies. At present, CRRC Tangshan has completed the static test and
dynamic test in the factory, and the train has qualified the conditions for
delivery.
The white main tone on the outer surface of the 400 kilometers per
hour cross-border interconnection high-speed EMU, in combination with the
Chinese red and yellow decorative lines, highlights the nobility and elegance
and demonstrates the national confidence. The painting graphic style is
extracted and originated from the morphological characteristics of flowers and
Ruyi (scepter), wave-like symbols and awe-inspiring posture, condensing the vitality
of train movement, implying that China's railways are vigorously moving forward
and creating new glory auspiciously.
According to Guo Yao, the project manager and deputy director of
the General Development Department of CRRC Tangshan Product R&D Center, the
400 kilometers per hour cross-border interconnection high-speed EMU has presented
many “innovative points”. In terms of utilization efficiency, the EMU is
designed with 8-car (4-motor vehicle, 4-trailer) marshalling structure, with business
seats, first-class seats and second-class seats, with a total of 576 passenger
places, which is consistent with the passenger capacity of the existing “Fuxing”
EMU.
Although the train is “wide and fat” and has a large passenger
capacity, its “weight” has been successfully reduced because of the large
number of applications of advanced lightweight materials such as
aluminum-magnesium alloy and carbon fiber on the train, Guo said. The greatly
reduced weight of train body makes it possible to expand the volume in a more
energy-saving and environmental friendly way, while making passengers more
comfortable.
Compared with the existing EMUs, the train can save energy
consumption more than 10% and have greatly reduced unit energy consumption when
running at a high speed of 400km/h. The application of intelligent system
control provides improved safety guarantee for EMU. With the application of
Ethernet technology to the high-speed train network control, the intelligent
automatic driver assistance system controls the operation status in real time,
calculates the optimum operation plan, and guides the driver in a scientific
manner. By developing an active operation and maintenance application platform,
CRRC Tangshan can implement real-time monitoring of the operation and health
status of train, and based on big data analysis, realize health management of
key components, guarantees safe and reliable operation with lower maintenance
costs.
“At present, the fastest commercial high-speed rail in the world
is the “Fuxing” Train operating on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail and the
Beijing-Tianjin intercity railway. The 400 km/h cross-border interconnected
high-speed EMU has the test speed reached 440km/h when it maintains a continuous
operation speed of 400 km/h”, Guo Yao said, “It has energized the national “One
Belt and One Road Initiative” by supporting the supply-side reform of
transportation equipment.
Before the intercontinental freight train runs from China to another
country, according to information, it is necessary to stop the train and
replace the bogie with another one that adapts to the gauge of the destination country,
which is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly process. Very high. In
addition to increasing the speed, the cross-border interconnection high-speed
EMUs with a speed of 400 kilometers per hour has also improved in terms of
cross-border interconnection.
Chen Yanhong, director of the Bogie Technology Center of CRRC
Tangshan, introduced that, the 400 km/h high-speed variable gauge bogie applied
on the train can cover 100% of the rail change demands of different gauges in
the range of 600-1886mm, and can be used for free conversion between meter
gauge and standard gauge, between standard gauge and wide gauge. CRRC Tangshan takes
the lead in using the high-speed (400 kilometers per hour) built-in axle box
bogie in EMU in China, which is small in size and light in weight, more
conducive to adapting to smaller limit requirements during cross-line operation.
All bench tests have been completed for the high-speed built-in axle box bogie,
hitting the highest test record of 609.6km/h on the rolling vibration test
bench, and the test results superior than standard requirements have demonstrated
the excellent performance of the bogie, Chen added.
As the speed continues to increase, the aerodynamic noise of
high-speed trains will increase significantly, and when the speed reached 300
kilometers, the aerodynamic noise becomes the main noise source instead of the wheel-rail
noise. The noise accompanied by high speed is an important factor affecting the
passenger experience.
In order to create a quiet and comfortable environment for
passengers, CRRC Tangshan has overcome the challenge of noise control of
high-speed trains and optimized the vibration and noise reduction design when
developing 400 km/h cross-border interconnection high-speed EMU. System
analysis and comprehensive management covers noise control from sound source,
vibration source, transmission path to attenuation suppression. New materials
such as magnesium alloy and carbon fiber are used for the apron board, locomotive
pilots and other components to cut off the route of sound propagation and
reduce the noise in the car. The noise inside train compartment is controlled
at 62 decibels, and the train has passed computer simulation experiments with excellent
noise level, and remains quite even when it is running at a high speed of 400
kilometers per hour.
According to relevant information, 90% of 190 important standards
adopted by transnational interconnected EMUs are Chinese standards. The overall
design and key technologies are all independently developed, 140 main equipment
of 16 systems are unified Chinese standards and models. The important
achievement of China railway equipment meeting the needs of global market will
strongly promote China’s “Go Global” Strategy and promote the integrated
development of international economy and culture.