China's railroad plans

Prof. Jan T. Andersson has translated a part of an interview with Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a senior consultant on China's domestic high-speed railways, in the German language newa magazine Der Spiegel, issue no. 12, 2010. The translation is posted here with Prof. Andersson's permission. In this interview, Wang Mengshu discusses Beijing's geostrategic railroad projects, including visions to 200 to 300 million people in western China and a tunnel connecting Taiwan and mainland China.


Image: EU Infrastructure.



China
"Very proud"
Der Spiegel, Nr. 12, 2010
Interview with Wang Mengshu

Spiegel: China intends to extend its railroad system to Singapore and Europe. When do you expect the first high-speed trains to roll?
Wang: The Southeast-Asia route should be the first one to be ready, by 2030. We still need to negotiate the gauge, since we want to use the Chinese system. Some Southeast Asian countries have already signalled their consent.

Spiegel: What does China expect from this project?
Wang: We will obtain commodities that the huge Chinese population needs. Burma, for instance, has no money but plenty of resources. We will help such underdeveloped countries to build railroads and to exploit their resources. Many countries have oil, gas and water resources.

Spiegel: Is railroad technology China's new export hit?
Wang: Seventeen countries have asked us to help them build high-speed lines. I am very proud of our technology.

Spiegel: You invest in railroads also in China. Are you going to pay more attention to the western parts of China?
Wang: In 2009 China invested more than 60 billion euros in the train infrastructure. Our network grows by more than 2000 km every year. We expect to have 120 000 km of railroad tracks in China in 2015. If we expand the network into China's Western regions and solve the water problem, then in the future 200 or 300 million people will be able to move there. The West will change China's economy.

Spiegel: You are even thinking of a tunnel to Taiwan. The shortest distance would be some 150 km. Which problem is larger: the technical or the political?
Wang: Technically only the ventilation is a problem. The demand for a tunnel is large, and politics must serve the people. Beijing doesn't see any problems. If there is a tunnel between Great Britain and France, why not between the mainland and Taiwan?