China's high-speed trains to reach 350 km/h in September

Seven pairs of China's new high-speed 'Fuxing' class trains are to start running at speeds of up to 350 km/h between Beijing and Shanghai starting from September 21.

This makes China the only country in the world to have commercial rail traffic traveling at such high speeds.

A "Fuxing" high speed bullet train on Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway line is pictured at Beijing South Railway Station in Beijing, China, 4 July 2017.[Photo: IC]

Officials from the China Railway Corporation told the thepaper.cn that the high-speed 'Fuxing' trains, which have been wholly designed and manufactured in China, and which can reach speeds of up to 400 km/h, passed tests of 350 km/h between Beijing and Shanghai in July.

From September 21, when the new train timetable comes into operation, journey times between Beijing and Shanghai will be cut to around four and half hours from over five hours.

Most high-speed trains in China have been limited to 300 kilometers per hour except for those traveling between Beijing and Tianjin since July, 2011 when there was a high speed train accident which left 40 people dead.

Investigations showed speed was not a factor in the accident, but the authorities decided to limit speeds until further tests could be carried out.