China will use domestically-produced high-speed trains that can run at speeds of 200 kilometers per hour, when it raises permissible train speeds in April next year, the Ministry of Railways has said.

"A batch of made-in-China locomotives that can run at 200 kilometers per hour or even faster will be put into use", ministry spokesperson Wang Yong said Thursday.

"China has taken another stride in modernizing its railway equipment technology," he said.

The ministry has raised authorized train speeds in China five times since 1997, in order to move the ever-increasing number of travelers more quickly.

The fastest Chinese passenger trains now run at 160 kilometers per hour, compared to just 60 kilometers per hour prior to 1997.

Wang said the ministry has completed the tests of new locomotives to be used when train travel speeds are raised for the sixth time.

The tests cover locomotive operation, rail track reinforcement, electricity supply, telecommunications control systems and transport network organization, he said.

The tests have been carried out on some of the busiest railway lines in China, including Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Hangzhou and Beijing-Guangzhou, the spokesperson said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2006)