CHINA: New Bullet Trains To Serve Passengers Soon

The green CR200J travels at a speed of 160 km/h
The newest bullet trains to hit China's tracks will take us into an exciting new world of travel in 2019. China's national rail operator, China Railway, says that the new "Fuxing" family of trains will be in use soon.

For the first time ever, the state-of-the-art Fuxing bullet trains took a family photo to the public in Beijing on Monday.

While sharing the same basic design, they vary in speed and purpose. The new bullet trains include a CR300BF and a CR200J, which respectively stand for their speeds of 250 km/h and 160 km/h.

Two CR400 trains have debuted as 17 carriage-trains, the longest ever in the Fuxing family. They can still travel at a speed of 350 km/h while carrying more than 1,280 passengers, up about 7.5 percent than previous CR400 trains, which recorded a maximum speed of 350 km/h when it traveled between Beijing and Shanghai in June 2017.

As for the new unveiled models, Zhang Bo, a researcher from the China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), said that they are more comfortable, and help reduce manufacturing and operation costs, while improving energy efficiency and conservation.

The former will soon join hands with existing trains to transport riders during the Spring Festival travel rush.

The latter is being tested and scheduled for use a year from now.

All three family members will lead or replace the current Chinese trains, according to China Railway.

Two CR400 bullet trains with greater carrying capacities are expected to carry more passengers during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush.

Among the bullet trains showcased on Monday, there are also trains other than the three bullet trains with speeds of 350, 250 and 160 km/h. The trains in the photo are a rail inspection bullet train, the previous Hexie or Harmony high-speed train, and a future smart high-speed train. Their status will be revealed in the days to come.

But the Fuxing bullet trains are the epitome of China's high-speed railway industry, as they have strong scientific research and development behind them.

China's national rail operator said that various local technologies have helped solve problems in fields like paving and maintaining roadbeds and tracks, as well as building safe bridges and tunnels for the bullet trains.

And efforts to further improve train infrastructure are being carried out by the entire Chinese railway industry. Hu Suoting, a researcher and also the director for the Science & Technology Department in CARS, said that efforts include engineering, equipment management, security, as well as information and intelligence technologies, which they will focus on more.

With years of development, China's railway industry has not only achieved world records in the speed, facilities and comfort level of its railway and trains but also in management and service.

The country's annual dispatched passenger number is expected to reach over 3.3 billion by the end of the year, and more convenience services will be provided, like the 12306 e-ticket sales system and ID swiping passing gate.

Experts say passengers are the first priority, particularly during China's national holidays like February's Spring Festival, when millions travel long distances nationwide.

Hu said that lining up in front of ticket offices is gradually becoming a thing of the past, and e-tickets will eventually become the norm.

By the end of the year, bullet train lines in China will cover 29,000 kilometers, accounting for two-thirds of the world's total.

And next, China will develop and equip smarter trains, which experts say will be in use by the 2022 Winter Olympics, with more channels opening for faster and safer trips.


Tourism Observer

SWITZERLAND: Ski Destination For Chinese Tourists

Skiing is not the most popular pastime in China, with a participation rate lower than 1%, according to an international ski study report.

Most practitioners do it occasionally, that is to say once a year and usually do not quit the beginner stage. The tracks generally suffer from very poor infrastructure, which is why Chinese tourists are leaving the country to ski, despite a strong potential in China.

Chinese tourists are increasingly looking for high quality services during their trip. Group travels are definitely over now! Chinese tourists are aiming at customized travel and are demanding attention.

A lot of Chinese tourists faced problems during Package Tour, travel agencies forced them to do shopping and they were touching commissions according to the amount of goods bought.

These claims did not fall on deaf ears. Indeed Swiss ski resorts have sought to answer this need by hiring Chinese ski instructors.

This extremely proactive decision was made in order to attract more Chinese tourists, who are a great potential for tourism. Let’s keep in mind that Chinese tourists are the travellers who are the biggest spenders when abroad.

Tourism in Switzerland suffered from the recession which strongly affected Europe and therefore has consequently led to a fall in the number of people visiting Switzerland.

As Switzerland is a country highly frequented by British people, Italians or Germans, the country has strongly suffered from a wave of cancellations of reservations or price negotiations made by travellers who booked their trip before the economical breakdown.

Chinese tourists are very different from Western ones, in terms of consuming habits and behaviours before and during trips.

Indeed, the last-minute travel practice is very popular in the West, while Chinese plan their trip much longer in advance. Thereby avoiding many inconveniences caused by cancellations.

Chinese tourists are not really into Mono destination holidays, skiing in Switzerland for example will be part of a’ European tour ‘. After Switzerland they will pass through Paris to do a little bit of shopping to finally return to China.

Westerners may also be surprised by Chinese people ‘Picture Culture’, who spend endless time to take pictures during their skiing lessons, allowing them to capture their trip.

To attract Chinese tourists, the stations will have to facilitate to the fullest, the travel of the latter through the development of all-inclusive packages, for example.

Switzerland should also, like for its chocolates or watches, to make the country a real brand, an extremely popular process among Chinese people. The creation of a brand ‘Switzerland’ help in targeting Chinese tourists.

China could host the 2022 Winter Olympics, this event could greatly boost domestic interest for winter sports. If the interest in skiing is tenfold, the demand will largely grow and the market size will be proportionally increased.

This is why it is important to target and answer to the new and more specific needs of Chinese tourists.