A brave new world4

Transportation (of people and goods) seems a benign topic on the surface of it. However, when one start to think of its role in our daily lives (i.e. its facilitation of human progress and interaction); we begin to realise how it should not be taken for granted. Transport networks are the metaphoric “blood circulation” of our global society’s  on both a micro and macro scale. Transport facilitates trade and travel which bring people together.

Now imagine a world where you’d be able to eat dinner in New York and have dessert in Paris less than an hour later having traveled there by train.  Unfathomable?

According to the video above; by 2099 it may be possible.  However; China is one nation taking bold strides to develop our global transport networks today.

“Passengers will be able to travel by train from King’s Cross to Beijing in just two days on trains that travel almost as fast as aeroplanes under ambitious new plans from the Chinese.  China is in negotiation to build a high speed rail network to India and Europe with trains capable of running at over 200mph within the next 10 years.”

“A second project would see trains heading north through Russia to German and into the European railway system, and a third line will extend sough to connect Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.” – telegraph.co.uk for full article

This new emphasis on transnational high-speed rail travel travel has very important implications for a number of reasons.  The sheer scale of proposed rail network which would integrate Central; East and South East Asia and Europe is it’s most notable feature. It marks a shift away from the alternative of aviation which is widely accepted to be more polluting and hence is more sustainable. As already alluded to; proficient (road and rail) transport networks are widely accepted as  key ingredients to economic development and prosperity.  This project is also a reflection of China’s new role as a world leader; with the country having been approached with the idea by other nations and engaging in negotiations with 17 countries to execute it. It represents trans-national co-operation on an unprecedented scale with construction and engineering companies from across the world bidding to build the project.

As always with such grand plans there are other concerns to be considered beyond the obvious construction issues.  The first is the cost of rail travel on the new rail network and whether it will be an accessible to all cross-sections of society. There are potential conflicts which are likely to arise out of the lucrative project as well as safety concerns and standards to be taken into account.

“The chairman of Central Japan Railway, of Japan’s busiest bullet train link, has denounced China’s high speed rail industry for “stealing” foreign technology and compromising on safety. ft.com for full article.

Indeed some conflict has already arisen.