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April 28, 2016

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Home » City specials » Chengdu

Transport industry gathering momentum

THIS year, Chengdu has seen faster growth across the transport industry as it became an important part in the city’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

In January, Chengdu’s Metro network was extended to 1,730 kilometers, making the city increasingly connected by subway and light rail. In February, several important agreements were signed to enhance cooperation between the government, companies and research institutes to better coordinate technological innovations in transport and commercialization. In March, during the annual session of the Chengdu People’s Congress, some lawmakers also suggested building the city into a hub for China’s high-speed trains.

It’s little surprise then that officials in Chengdu have identified transportation as a key driver of growth over the years ahead. Indeed, authorities hope to see the capital city of Sichuan Province transform into a global base for transport technology, application and development.

In the end, planners envision the creation of a local transport industry worth hundreds of billions of yuan.

Chengdu has begun preparing for the future with efforts to develop a complete industry chain ranging from education, research and development, design and sourcing, manufacturing, construction and maintenance.

Several of the industry’s biggest names already have a presence in the city.

The CRRC Corporation Ltd, the world’s largest supplier of rail transit equipment, has a Chengdu-based subsidiary specializing in repairing rail trains. In 2011, this local unit also started to assemble Metro trains. It made the dream to have made-in-Chengdu Metro trains come true.

Realizing the increasing importance of Chengdu, CRRC Corporation has launched several core projects in the area. One of them is the construction of the CRRC Chengdu Rail Transport Industrial Park in Xindu District. With a combined investment of 5.07 billion yuan (US$777 million), the park is due to be operational to manufacture carriages and cars in the near future. When the park’s three phases are completed in 2017, the entire project is expected to generate 15 billion yuan in revenue and contribute 600 million yuan in taxes annually. Industry experts believe the park will boost the development of the advanced equipment industry in research and development, and manufacturing in southwest China.

The China Railway Investment Corporation, another Global 500 company and a leading enterprise in the industry, has also invested heavily in Chengdu. It has established a zone called CRIC High-Tech Park, which is home to more than 50 transportation-related companies. The park will serve as the innovation and service center of transport high technology. These are involved in areas such as research and development, equipment manufacturing to operation, maintenance and training.

Cutting-edge companies

Xinzhu Corporation, one of a few manufacturers of electric rail cars in China, has also chosen Chengdu as its home base. Partnered with global transport giants including CRRC, Alstom and Siemens, Xinzhu has been a pioneer in technological development. It also actively responded to government calls to “go global” and has invested more than US$5 million in the Republic of Belarus.

Other companies, such as Chengdu Tang Source Electric Co Ltd, Tianma (Chengdu) Railway Bearing Co Ltd, Chengdu Yunda Technology Co Ltd, Jiaoda Guangmang Technology Co Ltd and China Railway Yanfeng Chengdu Science and Technology Co Ltd, are all important players in rounding out the industrial chain.

Strong companies bring about strong technologies, including those for electric rail cars and low- to medium-speed maglev trains, as a means to improve public transport.

Starting from 2015, the city government included the electric rail cars into public transport system. The total length of electric rails will amount to 100 kilometers in 2020 when the daily capacity will reach 600,000 to 1 million passengers. In 2030, the electric rails will span to 800-1,000km, and carry 5-6 million people every day.

Being a part of modern public transport systems, electric rail cars are similar to subways but run above ground, which is environmentally friendly. Compared with subways, electric rail cars are more cost-effective, require less initial investment, shorter construction time, lower operational expenditures. Compared with traditional buses, they move much faster, can carry more people, offer more comfort for passengers and have a longer lifespan.

In December 2015, construction started on Chengdu’s first demonstration electric rail line. The Y-shaped line starts at West Railway Station and ends at Pixian W. Station and Hongguang Station, connecting Pi County, High-Tech West Zone and downtown area. The 39.04km line will be put into operation in 2018. Meanwhile, construction on Dujiangyan electric car rail will start in the second half of this year.

Another options are low- to medium-speed maglev trains, which are also suited to metropolitan areas. Behind plans to introduce such vehicles in Chengdu is Southwest Jiatong University, which has mastered the world’s most advanced technologies to manufacture the second generation of low- to medium-speed maglev trains. The university, which will celebrate its 120th anniversary this year, has made outstanding contributions in education, research and development, as well as commercialization of transport technologies. The plan also involves companies like Xinzhu Corporation, which produces super capacitors; and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co Ltd, which offers construction services for maglev railways.

“Chengdu will take advantage of the country’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy to boost the growth of the rail transport industry. Chengdu plans to spend three to five years to build itself as the No. 1 rail transportation hub in central and western China,” according to the city’s development plan for its transport industry (2015-20), published in June of last year.

By 2020, Chengdu is expected to have 500km of Metro tracks operational and 150km on construction.

“Chengdu is ahead and has gotten an early start thanks to its solid infrastructure, while China’s open-up policy as well as the vision of ‘Made in China 2025’ will offer unprecedented opportunities for Chengdu to further grow the industry,” according to the plan.




 

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