China’s bullet trains facilitate market integration and mitigate the cost of megacity growth. Megacity growth in the developing world is fueled by a desire to access their large local labor markets. Growing megacities suffer from high levels of traffic congestion and pollution, which degrade local quality of life. Transportation technology that allows individuals to access the megacity without living within its boundaries offers potentially large social benefits, because individuals can enjoy the benefits of urban agglomeration while not paying megacity real estate rents and suffering from the city’s social costs. This paper presents evidence supporting the claim that China’s bullet trains are playing this role. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/03/13/1209247110.abstract?sid=1b700e6c-f4da-4ebf-8983-192cdad52fca

There have been stories about China's newest and longest high speed rail line. Here is a good photo slide show . The high speed train of the new 2,298-kilometre (1,425-mile) line between Beijing and Guangzhou. China started service on December 26 on the world's longest high-speed rail route, the latest milestone in the country's rapid and -- sometimes troubled -- super fast rail network. The opening of this new line means passengers will be whisked from the capital to the southern commercial hub in just eight hours, compared with the 22 hours previously required.

This photo of China's high speed bullet trains at the maintenance base in Wuhan is simply stunning. CRH380 (China Railway High-speed) Harmony bullet trains are seen at a high-speed train maintenance base in Wuhan, Hubei province, early December 25, 2012. China will open the world's longest high-speed rail line this week when a link between Beijing and the southern metropolis of Guangzhou is inaugurated, officials said on Saturday, underscoring its commitment to a trouble-plagued transport scheme. Compare this to Canada, the Harper Tories budget cuts have resulted in cities like Kitchener, Guelph, Niagara Falls, Stratford, London, Moncton and Halifax losing passenger rail service this year.

A US based pro High Speed Rail Group America 2050 Released a Report titled, "High Speed Rail in America" Promoting mega high speed rail regions in the USA. The report's one flaw is that it does not include Montreal and Toronto in its corridors. Enjoy reading it.

A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said. A specially modified French TGV train reached 357.2 mph (574.8 kph) during a 2007 test, while a Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 361 mph (581 kph) in 2003. Reminds me I saw a VIA Rail train going about 70kph lately....

the U.S.Public Interest Research Group has released a high speed rail study titled," A Track Record of Success: High-Speed Rail Around the World and Its Promise for America ". As studies go its not that long at 53 pages. It outlines all the familiar benefits of high speed rail. Read it, pass it on to a friend, and then for fun send it to your Member of Parliament to educate them on the subject. If your MP bothers to read the study they will probably email you back and tell you high speed rail is too expensive. Remind your MP of the fact that I mentioned in my last blog that the provinces and federal government spent $20billion in one year alone (2008)on roads in Canada! Your MP might state the same old myth that its cheaper to just build roads. That is when you send them to the Victoria Transportation Policy Institute website to read Todd Litman's 2009 paper, " Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis Techniques, Estimates and Implications ". The modernization ...

It was all over the news September 20, 2010, China had set the world' fastest train record at 416kph. Well not entirely true as the french TGV record is 574.8 kph and Japan's Maglev went 581 kph. One thing for sure China is a world leader in high speed passenger rail. The China HSR rail video clip is from Chinese TV. We loaded it on to our High Speed Rail Canada's YouTube Station for the whole world to see. Enjoy