China developing world's first 350 km/h automated bullet trains

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China Railway Corporation is developing a train control system that will allow Fuxing bullet trains to operate automatically at speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour, reports Science and Technology Daily.

The train conductors pose for photos before the bullet train of Chengdu-Ya'an high-speed railway at Ya'an station in Ya'an, Southwest China's Sichuan province, on Dec 28, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

The national railway operator said on Tuesday that the automatic train operation (ATO) system will first be used on trains running between Beijing and Zhangjiangkou in Hebei Province. The automated trains will go into service in 2022 ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics.

The ATO system will free train drivers from tasks such as stopping the train at stations and opening and closing passenger doors. The system will speed up or slow down a train according to the running schedule.

The ATO system is already installed on some high-speed trains on two 200 kilometer an hour lines in Guangdong Province. This was the first time anywhere in the world that ATO equipment was used on trains running at such a high speed.

Late last year, China Railway Corporation carried out a three-month field test of the ATO system on a high-speed train running between Beijing and the city of Shenyang in Liaoning Province. Experts said the system passed all of its tests and was ready to be put into regular use.

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