China unveils prototype locomotive for international travel

The prototype for a high-speed locomotive train that can run on any gauge of track - thus potentially revolutionising international rail travel - has been unveiled by China.

A report from Global Construction Review said that the 400km/h engine contains "gauge-changing bogies" which would eliminate the current need for trains to stop at a break of gauge as new bogies are fitted. 

The company behind the train was CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, a division of the state-owned CRRC Corporation, the largest maker of rolling stock in the world. 

The prototype's development was funded by a research grant of $5.2 billion (€4.4 billion) from the Chinese government.

CRRC says that the train can operate in temperatures between  –50 and 50°C, is able to use a variety of power sources and meet the differing railway standards of different countries.

The idea was first floated in June 2016 by Jia Limin, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University and the head of China's high-speed rail programme. In an interview with China Daily, Jia said at the time that the train would make its international debut on the 770km Moscow-Kazan high-speed line in Russia.

The launch of the prototype also meant that orders for the vehicle are now open.

The company, based in Jilin province in the extreme northeast of China, makes around 190 electric locomotives a year, as well as 4,000 urban mass transit vehicles and 600 mainline passenger vehicles. It has a turnover of about US$12 billion (€10.15 billion) and has exported to 20 countries.

According to related reports, China State Railway Group will double the length of the nation’s high-speed rail network to 70,000km by 2035.

The plans involve linking all cities with a population of over 500,000. China already has the world's largest high-speed rail network. 

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