Chinese bullet trains set a new world record

China has built over 16,000 kms of high-speed train tracks connecting most of the major cities.

Two Chinese trains running at world-record speeds in opposite directions on Friday crossed each other on parallel tracks, in the latest feat achieved by China in high-speed rail.

The two trains - "Golden Phoenix" and "Dolphin Blue" - travelling at 420 km per hour crossed on lines between Zhengzhou in the central Henan Province and Xuzhou in the eastern Jiangsu Province.

The experiment set a world-first for trains travelling at such speed, Zhou Li, head of the technological management department of China Railway Corporation, told state-run Xinhua news agency.

Zhou said the achievement, using homegrown trains, demonstrated that China has fully mastered the core technology of high-speed trains.

China has built over 16,000 kms of high-speed train tracks connecting most of the major cities.

It is now lobbying hard to export its high-speed train technology to India and several other places. 

Photograph: Reuters