Prototypes of the world’s fastest electric train presented in China

Last weekend, a prototype of the CR450 electric high-speed train was unveiled in Beijing. During testing, it accelerated to 450 km/h, and during operation the train will travel at speeds of up to 400 km/h. The introduction of the CR450 highlights China’s advanced achievements in railway technology and the country’s overall contribution to the global railway industry.

Image source: Xinhua/Ju Huanzong

Note that the CR450 is significantly faster than the currently operating CR400 trains, which run across the Middle Kingdom at speeds of up to 350 km/h. In the future, China Railways will conduct a series of line tests of CR450 prototypes and optimize technical performance to speed up the introduction of new trains into commercial operation.

According to CRRC Corporation Limited, a leading Chinese train manufacturer, the new prototypes are two models: CR450AF and CR450BF, each with eight cars: four motorized and four non-motorized. Resilience has increased by 22% and weight has been reduced by 10% compared to current generation models.

Both models feature a state-of-the-art water-cooled traction system, as well as a multi-level emergency braking system and more than 4,000 sensors for online monitoring of key systems, including the car body, high-voltage pantograph, train control systems and fire detection systems.

CR450 trains feature newly designed cars that minimize drag at high speeds, aided by a streamlined low-drag front end, aerodynamic glass and lightweight materials used in the design. The developers combined advanced noise reduction methods at different frequencies, thanks to which the noise inside the car was reduced by 2 dB, and the internal space itself increased by 4%.

According to CRRC, the innovations implemented in the CR450 should breathe new life into the global development of high-speed rail technology.