Slow start for China bullet train

Drivers will not be allowed to hit maximum speed of 260 kph until April.

Bullet train Beijing Shanghai china
The launch comes as China braces itself for its busy Chinese New Year travel season [Reuters]
The trains will also begin to operate between the southern city of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong, from the beginning of February.
 
The launch comes as China braces itself for its busiest travel season, the annual Chinese New Year holidays when millions of Chinese return home or go on vacation.
 
Rail officials say they expect 156 million passengers to use China’s railway network over the festival period.
 
China is investing heavily in modernising and expanding its railway network to cope with fast-growing business and tourist travel driven by a booming economy.
 
The trains were built by two Chinese-foreign joint ventures, one involving Canada’s Bombardier and the other involving Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
 

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Business and tourist travel, driven by China’s 
booming economy, is growing rapidly [Reuters]

Source: News Agencies