Ground TransportationBullet train is so smart it doesn’t need a driver

China fast-tracks its Winter Olympics rail line

By
|
The Jing-Zhang high-speed railway connects Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, all three of which will host events during the upcoming Winter Olympics.
The Jing-Zhang high-speed railway connects Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, all three of which will host events during the upcoming Winter Olympics. Photo Credit: Gaihong Dong/GettyImages

BEIJING - China has opened the 108-mile high-speed railway line connecting the capital with 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic host cities.

Part of China's Fuxing series, trains can reach speeds of  up to 350 kilometres per hour… without a driver.

The Jing-Zhang high-speed railway connects Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, all three of which will host events during the upcoming Winter Olympics. Travel  time between Beijing and Zhangjiakou will be cut from three hours to 47 minutes.

Carriages are equipped with 5G signals, intelligent lighting and thousands of sensors to collect real-time data and detect any operational abnormalities. Each individual seat has its own touch-screen control panel and wireless charging docks.

The trains can automatically start, stop and adjust to the different speed limits between stations.

Robots and facial recognition technologies have been deployed to help passengers with directions, luggage and paperless check-ins.

Though the high-speed trains on the route are autonomous, a monitoring driver will be on board at all times, CNN reported.

The President’s Lists
April - June 2023 eBook

Prominent leaders of Asia’s travel agent associations share insights on the most sought-after travel destinations and offer essential tips on how to connect with today’s savvy travellers

Read Now



JDS Travel News JDS Viewpoints JDS Africa/MI