Amazing road in China. Ways of the Celestial Empire. How roads are built in China. Money on the table

The bridge and road construction records set by the Chinese are impressive. The other day they built an interchange for a new railway station in 9 hours.

1.5 hours - and the bridge is ready

1,500 workers and 23 excavators connected 3 major railway lines overnight to the new Nanlong line in southern China. At the same time, they not only paved the road, but also installed traffic lights and other means of control along it. As explained Deputy Head of the Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group - the main builder of railways in China Zhang Daosong, the project was completed in record time due to the fact that the workers were organized into 7 teams that simultaneously performed various tasks. But it is obvious that the secret of Chinese success is not only smart management.

It's also about technology. So, in 2016, the Chinese turned two bridges 100 m long by 90 degrees in 1.5 hours. Huge structures were assembled along the railway track and then installed perpendicularly on prepared supports. At the same time, the busy highway under the railway tracks was not blocked - everything happened right above the cars.

And in 2015, the Chinese dismantled the old one and assembled a new 6-lane road bridge in Beijing in 43 hours. During this time they also managed to apply markings. The new bridge surface required a 1,300-ton structure, which was transported ready-made. As a representative of the contractor explained, a new technology of “integrative replacement” was used. Reconstruction in the usual way would have taken at least 2 months, but the key transport crossing in the northeast of Beijing, connecting the 3rd ring road, the airport expressway and Route 101, could not be blocked for so long.

They build in a week what we build in a year.

750 m per hour - this is the speed at which new roads are being built in the Middle Kingdom today. All expressways were built in the last 20 years! How did the “Chinese road miracle” happen and why can’t we adopt this experience?

“In terms of construction, China has long overtaken not only us, but the whole world,” AiF explained. President of the Union of Estimating Engineers Pavel Goryachkin. — In terms of production volumes of building materials, it is simply unrivaled, even the Americans are far behind. A simple example: we produce 79-80 million tons of cement per year, and the Chinese produce more than 1 billion tons! This is a serious indicator, especially since they do not export cement. They build as many roads in a week as we do in a year. We used to laugh at Chinese counterfeits, but they, like a sponge, absorb all new technologies. Now we are not talking about manual labor, when a million Chinese were rounded up and they dug some kind of pit with shovels. No! We are talking about high-tech construction. Today, the Chinese produce on their territory almost the entire range of necessary construction machinery and equipment. Chinese engineers study at the best universities in the world, do internships at the best construction sites, and this is supported in every possible way by the state. They understand that construction is one of the engines of the economy, and that’s why they invest. The Chinese are very hardworking and talented people. The technological solutions show how they are progressing.

But even with the amount of money we pour into our construction projects, for some reason we can’t work like that. Of course, we can do something: the technology is modern, the market for building materials is developed, and there are engineers, but... In China, construction is a priority for the state, but over the past two years, we, builders, have only heard threats and insults from officials: they say we don’t need shared construction, all developers are thieves and crooks. Rosstat records a decrease in the volume of produced building materials by 10%. According to the Supreme Arbitration Court, builders are in the forefront in terms of the number of bankruptcies. What kind of industry development can there be here?!”

Let us add that in China, government and regional officials are planning how the transport network should grow, taking into account the development of the economy, the direction of cargo and passenger flows, and the growth in the number of cars. A lot of money is allocated for this. But, although the cost of 1 km of highway in our countries is approximately comparable, in the Middle Kingdom they are built many times faster and with better quality - the specified service life of the highway there is 25 years.

The only good news is that our builders already have joint projects with the Chinese. The largest road construction corporations in the Celestial Empire want to invest in Russia, which means we need to learn and adopt their experience. And not only for engineers and builders, but also for managers.

750 meters per hour - this is the speed at which new roads are being built in China today. How did the “Chinese road miracle” happen and how can our neighbors’ experience help us?

FROM NOWHERE

Half a century ago, China was one of the most backward countries in terms of the length of paved roads. The Chinese government believed that there were more important tasks. The situation began to change in the 1980s, when it was understood that without modern road infrastructure we could not continue. There was even a slogan: “If we want to get rich, we must first build roads.” At this time, the government adopted the first plan for the creation of a network of national expressways and corresponding quality standards were developed. We decided on sources of financing for construction (state budget funds, local budgets, road maintenance fees, additional duties when purchasing a car, excise taxes on fuel). Since 1985, all this has been formalized by separate laws (many organizational problems have not been resolved to this day). At the same time, the state allowed the introduction of tolls on high-class highways to return loans for construction.

The first expressway, Shanghai - Jiading (18.5 km), was opened in 1988, after which the construction of similar routes began to grow. Already in the first decade, China has achieved results in road construction that took Europe and the United States more than half a century to achieve! The construction of highways raised the level of all road construction and allowed a backward industry, where the main means of production were a shovel, a wheelbarrow, a hand roller and millions of low-paid workers, to reach a modern level. Serious manufacturers of road equipment have emerged.

The construction of highways continues today, and at the same fantastic pace. By the beginning of the 21st century, their length exceeded 10 thousand kilometers. In 2002 - already 20 thousand, and in 2008 - 60 thousand kilometers! By the end of 2013, the total length of highways exceeded 4.1 million kilometers, including 104.5 thousand expressways. According to the Transport Development Program for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015), in the coming years a network of expressways will be formed in China that will connect all regions and almost all cities with a population of over 200 thousand people. Already today there are 300 thousand bridges in China (a thousand of them are more than a kilometer long). The country has taken second place in the world in terms of the number of modern roads, and all highways were built in 20 years!

All of China is covered by a network of expressway toll roads, some of which have no free alternative. Drivers pay, but don’t complain: after all, you can quickly get to any point in the country!

SECRET TECHNOLOGIES

The Chinese have not invented anything new. Government and regional institutions are planning how the transport network should grow - taking into account the development of the economy, the direction of freight and passenger flows, and the growth in the number of cars. There is a lot of money in the country, including free money - money that can be used to create modern infrastructure. Rhetorical question: why didn’t they do this in Russia when the country was literally flooded with petrodollars? In 2005–2010, investments in the creation of a network of national expressways in China amounted to 17–18 billion US dollars per year, and now, when the main arteries have already been put into operation, they spend 12 billion annually.

Federal or local authorities completely control construction, but it is carried out, as a rule, with the contractor’s money. And the state or regional government will pay him only after all the work has been completed, and precisely within the amount specified in the contract. High rates are a direct result of such a system: builders want to return the money invested as quickly as possible. At the same time, without compromising quality: the specified service life of roads is, as a rule, at least 25 years.

MONEY ON THE TABLE

Most roads in China are free. There are also two types of toll roads: state (built at the expense of the budget) and commercial (built at the expense of companies’ own or borrowed funds). For an ordinary motorist there is no difference between them, but according to the law, a state road must become free after 15 years of operation, and a commercial road after 25 years. Toll for cars – from 0.25 to 0.6 yuan (1.3–3.3 rubles) per 1 km, depending on the time of day, season, etc. For trucks – from 3 to 7 rubles, which is not much different from European tariffs. But there are two differences from Europe or neighboring Japan. Firstly, all roads in cities are free, even if they are futuristic six-level interchanges, like in Shanghai. And in Tokyo, entry to the multi-level city freeway is paid. Secondly, there is not always a free alternative road, and in such cases each time a separate decision is made at the government level.

I've driven a lot on Chinese roads. To be honest, among them there are also old, broken ones, especially in the north of the country. But new roads, interchanges, bridges, as well as the pace of their construction are amazing. Sometimes the area is not recognizable: I remember that last year there was an open field here and some huts stood, but today there is a highway, and on the second level, and new interchanges are being built...

The most impressive thing was the Donghai Bridge, built three years ago. When you look at the map, you get the feeling that it leads to nowhere and ends in the open sea. But it's not like that. Shanghai's port, the world's largest by turnover, is located at the shallow mouth of the Yangtze River and cannot handle today's huge tankers and container ships. To solve this problem, a new port was built on the small island of Yanshan - just for such ships. And they connected the island with the mainland with a bridge 32.5 km long. Fantastic building! Six to eight traffic lanes, excellent coverage, lighting... It’s like driving on the open sea! So, Donghai was built in just three years! And this is not the longest bridge in China: in Shandong province there is a bridge over the Jiaozhou Bay that is 36.5 km long. And for reference: seven of the ten longest bridges in the world are in China.

Shanghai, with a population of 20 million, is quite successful in solving its transport problems. The main “secret of the company” is to build as many new roads and interchanges as possible.

BROTHERS - FOREVER?

How can Chinese experience be useful to us? What can we do together to defeat the first eternal Russian misfortune?

A number of joint projects are already being implemented: for example, new border crossings are being built on the Russian-Chinese border and highways leading to them. It is planned to build two bridges across the Amur: Blagoveshchensk - Haihe (there is already a project) and in the Trans-Baikal Territory, near the village of Pokrovka. Both Chinese and Russian companies will work. The largest road construction corporations in the Celestial Empire are very interested in the opportunity to participate in our main infrastructure projects - the construction of the Central Ring Road in the Moscow region, the new high-speed route Western Europe - Western China (for them this is the most important transit direction!). And the main object that at least two leading Chinese companies have set their sights on in recent months is the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. As soon as this project became known, a large delegation of Chinese experts immediately arrived in Kerch. And it wasn’t just that they showed me the Donghai Bridge!

“Chinese partners would like to invest about five trillion rubles in the development of our transport infrastructure over five years, and I believe that our cooperation has very good prospects,” says Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov. – We have already managed to agree with partners on a number of key issues. Firstly, Russian and Chinese companies will work together at all stages. Secondly, Chinese banks and funds are ready to invest in joint projects, directly, in yuan and rubles. Thirdly, there is support at the highest level both from our side and from China.

The 32-kilometer Donghai Bridge connects Shanghai with the new deep-water port on Yanshan Island.

It seems that the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait could be the first, but very serious, joint project. Judge for yourself: in difficult conditions it is necessary to build a bridge crossing 19 km long, which will run along a dam across the island of Tuzla to Kerch. The Taman Peninsula, Tuzla and the Crimean coast will be connected by two spans of a two-tier combined road-railway bridge - 1.4 and 6.1 km long. And to approach the bridge, it will be necessary to build at least 40 km of roads in Taman, 8 km of highways in Kerch, 17 km of railways... The bridge will also serve as a support for water pipelines. Unfortunately, we have no experience in constructing facilities of this scale. European companies are no help here - they will not go to Crimea so as not to fall under sanctions. And the Chinese have a lot of experience: they are now building the longest bridge in the world: Macau - Hong Kong. Its length is 58 km.

By the way, on average, the construction of 1 km of four-lane highway in China costs $2.9 million. We have about $7 million, but this includes funds for the purchase of land, the transfer of communications and other expenses, which amount to 40–50% of the total amount. So the prices are comparable. But for some reason the results are different: in our country a little more than 600 km of roads are built a year, and in China – up to 10,000 km! True, in China they invested up to 4% of GDP in road construction, and in our country - only 1%... So it turns out that now the total length of paved roads in China is 4.5 times greater than in Russia. But 30 years ago the Chinese had nothing to brag about. Maybe in a few decades they will improve our roads too?

– one of the most progressive countries in the world. Despite the fact that roads in China began to be actively built relatively recently - since 1984 (before that it was believed that there were more important things to do), today they are of high quality, widely branched and amaze with their pace of construction.

Why so fast

Since China began to develop, the government has come to the conclusion that it is impossible to establish production and sales unless the country has high-quality ways to quickly deliver raw materials and goods. It was decided that a considerable part of the budget should be spent on road construction. The most extensive work was carried out in the period from 2005 to 2010, about 17-18 billion dollars were spent on this per year. Currently, about $12 billion is invested annually in road construction.

Today, the speed of road construction in China is about 750 meters per hour. Many may think that the country uses some special technology, but no - this is the result of proper organization of labor. The roads are not built by a government organization, but by a contractor who performs all work at his own expense. He receives payment only upon completion of all the work provided for in the contract. This encourages him to work faster. But such a pace does not lead to a decrease in quality, because the contractor provides a warranty period of service, which on average is 25 years.

Classification of Chinese roads

Roads in China can be divided into several types, depending on the classifier. Depending on the width: express – 25 m; 1st class – 25.5 m; 2nd class – 12 m; 3rd class – 8.5 m; 4th class – 7 m. In management: national; provincial; county; urban; village; special purpose.

Fare payment

Most road routes in China are free to travel. Paid ones are divided into two types: public (built at the expense of the budget) and commercial (built by contractors with their own money or with funds from private firms). State roads become toll-free after 15 years of operation, and commercial roads after 25.

The fee depends on the type of road, time of year and day. The approximate fare per kilometer is 0.25 to 0.6 yuan. Unlike European countries or, which is located next door, in Chinese cities all roads are free, even if they are very large junctions. But the downside is that there is not always a free alternative to toll roads.

Bridges in China

The active development of transport infrastructure pushed the Chinese to build bridges, which are very complex and expensive to build. The 32.5 km long Yangtze River Bridge is built on a deep-water foundation, like many others in this country. It made it possible to connect the land with the Shanghai port, which is the largest in the world in terms of turnover, but due to the shallow waters of the river it could not be built closer to the shore. Despite its impressive length, the bridge is not the largest in China; there is an even longer one - 36.5 km (across Jiaozhou Bay). Today, the People's Republic is busy building the world's longest bridge: Macau-Hong Kong, 58 km long.

When I went to China, I was sure that the inhabitants of this country rode rusty bicycles, or, at best, coal-burning three-wheeled carts. The reality, as always, exceeded all my expectations.

Let's start with a small lyrical digression.

Once in Beijing, the first thing you notice is that the city is buried in clouds of smog. Sometimes in Beijing you really can’t breathe... And that’s not so bad, because smog is also poisonous! Are cars to blame for this? Without a doubt. But they are not alone - rather, it is the abundance of industries, of which there are a huge number in northern China. This is the side side of progress. But Chinese authorities are working hard to improve this disastrous situation.

Firstly, forest belts are created here and there to purify the air. Secondly, new cleanliness standards for production are being introduced. Thirdly, the authorities have seriously taken up the development of “green” public transport and the environmental friendliness of cars allowed on the streets of Beijing and other major cities.

What does it mean? This means that you won’t see fuming junk cars in Beijing, because in the city you can only drive cars that meet strict environmental standards. For passenger cars this is the China 5 standard, corresponding to Euro 5. My photographs were taken in the summer of 2012, when Euro 4 standards were in force in the city.

Cars that were registered before the introduction of strict regulations now do not have the right to go on the streets when the environmental situation deteriorates.

Compliance with this is closely monitored by the road inspectorate.

The entry of freight vehicles during the day is completely prohibited without special permission. Weep, pickup truck owners, you won't be able to get into the center of Beijing! Not only to the center, but you won’t be able to enter the fourth ring...

There is also a struggle with the number of cars on the roads. There are over 5.5 million cars in Beijing. But to increase the number of motorists, it is not enough to buy a car. To combat traffic jams, local authorities are limiting the annual issuance of license plates to 240,000.

The numbers are distributed using a special state lottery. The participation fee is about 8,000 rubles using our money. In the country as a whole, about 3% percent of participants win annually. If the budget allows, then rooms can be purchased without a queue - it will cost 100,000 yuan, i.e. more than 800,000 rubles. In China, you can buy a pretty decent new car for this amount.

But that’s not all in Beijing’s fight against traffic: with an even last digit of the license plate, you can drive on even days, and vice versa. For non-resident car owners, entry into Beijing requires a special permit. Such tough measures are not popular, but the effect is amazing - there are almost no traffic jams in the giant metropolis.

Those who do not have a car ride bicycles, and, what is much more common, electric bikes.

Sometimes you can find electric strollers.

In general, the city traffic is similar to Moscow, only there are more mopeds: the Chinese love good cars, and there are almost no local brand cars on the roads.

Native “Chinese” are almost less common than ours. Among the local brands, Chery and Great Wall are the most common.

But Audi, Mercedes, BMW are on every corner.

The most popular models of German brands are produced in China (for example, Mercedes has the E, C and GLK classes), the rest are imported. Owning an imported car is a real luxury, because it costs much more than a “local” one.

The BMW Five, Audi A6 and Mercedes E-Class are especially popular in extended versions, which are not available in other markets.

Rolls-Royce is the choice of the wealthiest Chinese.

The “American” brand Buick is for middle-class officials.

Hyundai and second generation VW Passat (Santana) are popular among taxi services. Such cars were produced in China until the end of 2013.

Outside Beijing, the pressure of environmental regulations is easing.

The law for passenger cars specifies China 4 (Euro 4) standards, but as you understand, this applies to newly registered cars. But China 2 (Euro 2) standards for passenger cars were introduced in China only in 2004... Moreover, for freight vehicles with diesel engines, Euro 4 standards were introduced only in January 2015, and before that the standards were in force since 2007 Euro 3. So, talking about the environmental friendliness of Chinese cars outside the largest cities can be very conditional, but still, compared to, for example, the Russian vehicle fleet, China undoubtedly wins in this matter.

Now about the roads. The Chinese are masters of construction. The roads in China are simply amazing; even European highways cannot compare with them. The federal program for the development of road infrastructure, adopted 30 years ago and designed for 50 years, is demonstrating complete success.

Wide highways and grandiose bridges are built in record time, and the quality is at its best, since the contractor is responsible for the safety of the road for a couple of decades. Punishments for violating “socialist standards” in China are very strict, so the roads are excellent.

Strict adherence to simple but effective technological rules makes Chinese roads the best I have ever seen. Metal reinforcement is laid on a plump bed of gravel and sand, which is filled with a thick layer of concrete. After hardening, asphalt is laid on the concrete. Result: only Italian autobahns (the best in Europe) can compare with Chinese ones. And this despite the fact that the percentage of mechanization is minimal. The guy in the white shirt clearly monitors the quality of work.

In most cases, the roads are tolled, but there is something to pay for.

To be fair, pothole repairs also occur, but they do them conscientiously. For example, in this photo, a worker is blowing out all the crumbs from the pit that could interfere with the adhesion of the patch material.

The worst road in northern China looks like this, but a modern highway has already been built nearby.

Speed ​​limits and the movement of vehicles in China are strictly controlled. Automatic cameras are installed at all intersections and exits. In addition to the fine, one violation of the speed limit entails a demerit point. A total of 12 demerit points per year are allowed; if more, your license is taken away and you have to go through training again.

Speed ​​cameras film cars from behind, so many drivers use a trick and either cover the license plates with rags or insert CDs into the license plate frames. Doesn't remind you of anything?

Fortunately, tricks do not always work. This Lexus driver was caught red-handed...

And before my eyes, a real chase was launched after this owner of a Camry with gold nameplates.

It should be noted that there are practically no cars on the highways. Apparently, the infrastructure is built in such a way that the Chinese do not need to travel anywhere outside their area, or it is simply too expensive. One way or another, most often on the roads there are expensive cars that are always in a hurry to get somewhere.

The road campaign is dubbed into English. I wonder why? After all, in order for a foreigner to get behind the wheel, he needs to obtain a Chinese license, and also take care of escort from the local KGB.

Unlike passenger cars, all trucks and buses are local brands. Among the buses, Higer and King Lion are the most popular. Normal buses, comfortable.

Among trucks, FAW and Foton are more common, suspiciously similar to Mercedes, Scania, Volvo.

Sometimes, however, you can see some semblance of “Americans”.

Absolutely all local trucks are extremely overloaded, by Russian standards. It seems that in China there are no load and size standards. Well, or they allow it :)

Car transporters especially deliver, with cars standing on top in two rows.

Everything is transported here on trucks. Even diesel locomotives.

And other unimaginable designs.

And of course, trucks carry trucks, which, in turn, also carry trucks...

On the streets of provincial cities there is a crush and complete disregard for traffic rules.

There are no restrictions on vehicles here - trucks and pickups drive on the streets.

Cars are parked everywhere on the sidewalks; in some places you have to walk around them on the roadway. And this is the city center!

And on the streets of the same center you can find ruins and heaps of garbage.

All this is wonderful to observe while standing in a dead traffic jam. There is no such thing in Beijing!

By the way, Harbin was founded by Russians, and at the beginning of the 19th century it was here that the largest Russian community outside of Russia was located... We will assume that this is a mere coincidence, because there have been no Russians in Harbin for a long time.

In remote provinces, taxis are often no longer “branded”, but native, truly “Chinese”.

Even the police drive “Chinese” cars here.

Trucks are found that no longer meet any conceivable standards.

A self-made condo is an interesting technical solution.

The rules of transportation are not grossly violated - there are no rules at all.

And here are the long-awaited three-wheeled cars! There are two main types of such devices, each of which looks enchanting in its own way:

Cars…

...and cargo.

The quality of workmanship suggests that in some cases the products are handicrafts, or simply homemade. Soon they will become history. Their place will be taken by normal cars.

The most popular urban transport in the northern Chinese outback is motorized carriages, reminiscent of the tuk-tuks familiar from Southeast Asia.

Horse-drawn vehicles are very rare in China, but they can still be found.

And of course, in the villages, normal boys drive tractors.

Country gas station

In a roadside cafe you can always have a tasty snack with something inedible

The store nearby will always have a set of spare parts for overhauling your truck, as they say, without leaving the cash register.

What else can I tell you about driving a car in China? Hold on: in 2 weeks I saw only 2 minor road incidents, which cannot even be called road accidents.

Obviously, we have a lot to learn from the Chinese...

Did you like the text? Read other reports from my trip to China:

annotation

The article introduces China's achievements in railway construction over the past 15 years. The results of technical re-equipment and reconstruction of old roads, the implementation of an ambitious project for a national network of high-speed highways, and the unique experience of constructing the highest mountain railway to Tibet are described. The problems of development and operation of highways and their engineering protection are considered.

Today's China is a unique phenomenon among the world's major states, standing out noticeably from the general population. If the global trend is stabilization and even some reduction in the total length of railways, then in China there is now a rapid, or rather explosive, development of the railway transport infrastructure. And not just development, but also the creation of entire new transport subsystems.

In 2002, the length of the country's railways was less than 60 thousand km; in 2014 it already reached 103 thousand km. In terms of electrification of main lines, China also took first place at the turn of 2012–2013, ahead of the previous leader, Russia. Average traffic speeds on ordinary – non-high-speed – highways have increased sharply, where in 1997–2014. There have been about eight systematic increases in permitted section speeds. Railway lines are also being rapidly built in remote provinces, increasing the transport connectivity of the country. A unique project has been implemented to lay a high-mountain railway line to previously isolated Tibet - the so-called Qinghai-Tibet Railway, half of the length of which passes at an altitude of over 3 km.

The colossal volume of road construction has made China a leader in the field of construction of artificial structures: over the past 15 years (2000–2014), such grandiose projects as the Danyang-Kushan Viaduct with a length of 164.8 km, the Tianjin Viaduct with a length of 113.7 km, several tunnels over 10 km long, two sea ferry crossings, several dozen bridges over large rivers. The Chinese have also accumulated considerable and valuable experience in this area.

It must be said right away that such an accelerated development of transport infrastructure in the country is not a chaotic process, but represents the implementation of very specific plans, approved and adjusted approximately once every five years at the regular congresses of the CPC. The financing of these projects is carried out mainly centrally, through the issuance of state obligations (bonds), and the main burden is placed on joint-stock companies controlled by the state.

One of the main elements of the systematic development of railways is the plan for the construction of a network of dedicated (separate from the regular network) high-speed lines, HSR. It was called the “4+4 Plan” due to its geographical configuration.

Multi-level connection of non-high-speed lines to the main high-speed railway (Nanjing)

Ambitious “Plan 4+4”

The 4+4 Plan was approved in 2004 as China's first high-speed rail development program. Basically, it was originally a system of four vertical (from north to south) and four horizontal (from east to west) lines. Later it was supplemented with new branches and connecting lines, but the frame of the highways looked exactly like this.

What was supposed to be built according to this ambitious plan?

Vertical highways (meridional) must:

1. Connect the capital of the country with northern Manchuria: the Beijing-Harbin line with a branch to the Kwantung Peninsula to the port of Dalian.
2. Connect the two main metropolises of China: Beijing and Shanghai with a population of 25 million, plus a parallel highway closer to the East China Sea - Tianjin-Shenyang.
3. Lay a highway to the South along the shortest route: Beijing–Wuhan–Guangzhou with the prospect of extending it to Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
4. Connect all economically active southern provinces with a coastal high-speed line from Shanghai through Ningbo and Fuzhou to Shenzhen, where it connected with meridional axis No. 3.

Horizontal highways (latitudinal) should:

1. Connect the port of Qingdao to the inland industrial hub of Taiyuan via the Beijing Industrial Region.
2. Connect the Yellow River Valley with the remote western mountainous Xinjiang - Xuzhou-Lanzhou-Urumqi (the longest and strategically important).
3. Lay a through line along the Yangtze Valley and its industrial centers: from the port of Shanghai through the megacities of Wuhan and Chongqing to Chengdu.
4. Lay a line to the mountainous regions of southwest China adjacent to the countries of Southeast Asia: from the port of Shanghai through Changsha to the capital of Yunnan province, Kunming.

Thus, China would extend its “high-speed tentacles” to almost all areas of the country, and the lines would allow a passenger (businessman, tourist, government official) to reach any point within this configuration in less than 12 hours. The unit of measurement was precisely the hours of travel to any point; everything was calculated in them. For example, from Beijing to Shanghai the average travel time was reduced from 14 to 5 hours, from Harbin to Beijing from 15 to 5.5 hours, etc.

The construction of such a network made it possible to significantly accelerate economic activity in China, to involve new layers of hitherto inactive population from the interior regions into the economy, and to promote the formation of new enterprises in various industries. These factors were discussed in some detail in an article by Zhu Ying in Kommersant (for more details, see http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2602194).

Reconstruction and technical re-equipment of conventional lines

But it was not only the construction of the high-speed railway network that was supposed to transform the railways of the Celestial Empire. Other processes were going on in parallel:

• Construction of new lines of the usual type (universal freight-passenger lines), mainly in remote and outlying areas.
• Comprehensive reconstruction of the country's main trunk corridors in order to increase their capacity and section speeds, which also reduced travel time.
• Electrification of highways in order to increase their capacity and the average weight of trains, as well as improve the environmental situation, which is extremely important for this country.

In 2013, China overtook Russia in terms of the length of electrified lines and took first place in the world (48 thousand km, now more). This happened after the commissioning of the Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway. Electrification there began only in 1958, and it took China just over half a century to achieve world leadership in the length of electrified railways.

In the “zero” years, two sea ferry railway crossings were put into operation: through the Qunzhou Strait (connection of the mainland and Hainan Island in Haikou, length 33 km) and through the Bohai Strait between the ports of Yantai (Shandong Province) and Dalian (Liaoning) 57 km long. In addition, large tunnels were built, comparable to Severomuysky in Russia, such as Qinglinsky (18.5 km, on the new Xi'an-Ankang line), Dayaoshansky (14.4 km, on the Hengyang-Guangzhou line). More than a dozen tunnels ranging from 5 to 10 km in length were built.

Since 1997, a comprehensive reconstruction of the country's main highways and technical re-equipment of the rolling stock fleet have been consistently carried out. This process was multifaceted and involved many related processes. I think it’s worth looking at its components in a little more detail.

Development and implementation of high-speed rolling stock. This was the first major event in the overall rearmament sequence. In a fairly short time (7–8 years), by the beginning of the 2000s, several new series of locomotives and cars were developed and tested, designed to travel along existing lines at speeds of up to 160–200 km/h. For example, electric locomotives of the SS7D and SS9 series, diesel locomotives of the DF4 series, passenger cars of the 25K family of various classes, including double-deckers.

Then, in the early 2000s, it was time to modernize the basic infrastructure along the main arterial corridors, involving large capital expenditures that were impossible under the conditions of the 1990s. It included the following activities:

• laying continuous rail strands and eliminating short rails with a large number of joints;
• replacing turnouts with high-speed ones;
• re-laying of tracks in order to eliminate small radius curves where the movement of trains at high speed was unacceptable;
• softening the overall track profile to reduce the number of sections with steep ascents and descents;
• replacing old wooden sleepers with reinforced concrete ones;
• reconstruction of overpasses and small bridges;
• the introduction of soil reinforcement in railway construction and the transition from passive retention to active strengthening of the track structure (driving rods, reinforcing embankments using geofabrics or geogrids);
• installation of protective fences and elimination of crossings with parallel construction of road intersections at different levels;
• improvement of the locomotive signaling system and widespread introduction of automatic blocking.

An important aspect of the work to increase speeds was to ensure train safety at a high level.

And here, too, multifaceted engineering solutions were required: it was necessary to ensure constant monitoring of the state of technical equipment, regardless of their location, and the information necessary for decision-making had to arrive immediately at any time. Chinese railway workers, through trial and error, came to the cross-use of three monitoring systems.

The floor-mounted system measures the lateral forces in the interaction of wheels and rails as a train passes. This involves synchronous collection of data from vibration, displacement and speed sensors, as well as their analysis in real time. The system equipment could be installed at any critical location on the track, and an alarm signal could be received at the train control center within 10 seconds.

The mobile system (based on the GJ-4 high-speed track inspection car) is based on the use of equipment that uses inertial orientation technologies and semiconductor laser measurements in combination with automatic location binding. Basic track parameters can be measured and recorded while the car is moving at speeds of up to 160 km/h.

The monitoring system for critical track points (based on a track stiffness measuring car) allows you to measure and record the track stiffness on approaches to bridges and on transition sections, crossings, in turnout areas and other critical places when moving at speeds of up to 40 km/h . The use of such a car makes it possible to monitor the condition of critical points of highways, identify possible problems at an early stage and correctly select the type of track superstructure during its future reconstruction.

As you can see, the implementation of a multi-stage program to increase traffic speed has brought China's railways into the ranks of leaders. Now on the main corridors between the largest economic centers of the country there is a mixed movement of high-speed passenger (up to 160 km/h) and heavy freight trains (up to 100 km/h and 5000 tons of train weight) on the same intensively operated sections. Which in itself is an extraordinary achievement.

The fastest high-speed train Beijing-Shanghai G1 covers 1318 km in 4 hours 45 minutes

The beginning and active stage of implementation of the “4+4 Plan”

The first sign of the “4+4 Plan” was a fairly short road (117 km), built between the two largest, closely located agglomerations - the Beijing capital and Tianjin, located on the shores of the Bohai Bay. The Beijing-Tianjin intercity railway was built for the 2008 Olympic Games and was characterized by all the main features of a dedicated high-speed railway, which would later become common on other similar lines:

• a route completely separate from ordinary lines, closed with protective barriers or placed on overpasses when crossing some objects;
• without single-level intersections with other lines and roads along the way;
• specialization - it carries only high-speed passenger traffic without ordinary trains, much less freight;
• a separate new terminal station was built for it in Beijing (South Station) and special tracks were allocated at the Tianjin Main Station.

CRH3 trains were put on the line, reaching speeds of up to 330 km/h (later the speed was reduced to 300). The average trip time was reduced threefold - from the previous hour and a half to 28 minutes. 60 pairs of trains (!) plus 2 track measuring trains now run along it per day. There are no trains at night.

After the opening of this first small line, an interesting pattern was revealed: high-speed communication includes in the process of transport exchange new segments of the population who previously did not regularly travel outside their cities (2007 - 8.3 million people, in the first year of the road's existence - 18.7 million ). The increase in passengers was noticeably higher than the total number of railway and bus passengers a year and a half earlier.

In parallel with the launch of the first line and testing of the main solutions in real operation, accelerated construction of other, longer main high-speed lines began. First of all, from Beijing to the north - to Manchuria, to the south - to Wuhan and Guangzhou, and also to the southeast - to the country's largest metropolis, Shanghai.

The Beijing-Shanghai HSR, 1,318 km long, after construction (April 2008–November 2010), overturned another postulate of transport communication, which was previously considered unshakable: that high-speed lines are profitable and attract passengers at distances from 300 to 1,000 km, and at a length of over 1,000 km the mass passenger begins to prefer aviation.

This turned out to be completely different: despite the preservation of the regular railway line to Shanghai and the presence of intensive air and bus services, tens of millions of people moved to this line, plus several million “newcomers” arose who had not previously traveled outside their regions. Travel time from the capital to Shanghai by train has been reduced from 12–14 hours to 5 and even 4 hours 45 minutes. In the six months after its opening (2011), the line transported 24.5 million people, and 4 years later (2015) it transported 56.3 million people in the first six months.

During the construction of the line, numerous artificial structures were also built - 244 bridges, several long overpass viaducts (including the world's largest Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct, 165 km long), 22 tunnels with a total length of 16 km. Most of this highway (about 80% of the length) was built using ballastless technology. It tested many innovations that are now common on Chinese high-speed lines.

The line is extremely popular: now an average of 290 (!) trains run along it every day with different terminal stations. Trains depart from Beijing to Shanghai approximately every 15 minutes. Along it there are 11 cities with a population of over 1 million people, which also generate their own passenger traffic. Thanks to its opening, the interaction between the Bohai Bay economic zone and the coastal zone of the Yangtze Delta has significantly intensified.

In 2010–2015 Other lines were also built according to the 4+4 Plan (see Fig. 3). Among the significant milestones in the implementation of this plan, the following projects are worth mentioning:

The line to Manchuria and the Kwantung Peninsula (Beijing/Dalian–Shenyang–Harbin), which was built partly in cold areas where winter temperatures drop to -40 0C and special measures are required to compensate for the temperature effects along the way. There, high-speed trains run at different seasonal speeds (up to 300 km/h in summer, up to 200 km/h in winter). For this line, CRH380B trains adapted for traffic in cold regions were developed.

The world's longest high-speed line to the south (Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen) is more than 2,300 km long, introduced at the end of December 2012. A direct high-speed train of category G from Beijing to Guangzhou covers 2,300 km in 8.5–9 hours. By the way, this distance is almost equivalent to the Moscow-Omsk distance.

The HSR along the Yangtze Valley (Shanghai-Wuhan-Chongqing-Chengdu, length about 2100 km), laid in difficult mountainous areas with dozens of tunnels and high-water bridges across the Yangtze and other major rivers. Unfinished in one section (Chongqing–Wanzhou), completion expected in 2015.

The Hainan High Speed ​​Semi-Ring (Sanya-Haikou HSR, length about 300 km) was built in the tropics with high humidity and partially mountainous terrain. The line is isolated from the main HSR network.

The implementation of the plan continues before our eyes, and every six months we receive messages about the commissioning of some new high-speed sections - the powerful construction columns created for the project do not stand idle.

Problems of growth and the crisis of 2011

Like any large complex project with many stages, “Plan 4+4” did not escape the crisis phenomena of network growth, a kind of “childhood illness”. During the accelerated construction of new lines after the first striking successes (“Olympic Line” to Tianjin - 2008, Beijing-Shanghai High Speed ​​Rail with grandiose artificial structures - 2010), “dizziness with success” occurred on the Chinese railways.

The speed of traffic on the newly introduced lines reached 340–350 km/h, attention to traffic safety in order to reduce travel time was somewhat weakened, algorithms for checking the condition of lines were not improved, and the reckoning was not long in coming.

On July 23, 2011, two trains traveling along the Shanghai-Fuzhou coastal high-speed line collided on an overpass in the suburbs of Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province). One train drove into the tail of the second at a speed of approximately 100 km/h. Both trains derailed and several carriages fell from the overpass. 40 people were killed and 192 were injured, and in total there were about 1,600 people on both trains at the time of the crash. The crash was called the "Zhejiang Disaster" and caused a great stir in society; Chinese officials and experts came under harsh criticism.

This extraordinary incident had a chilling effect on the initial euphoria of the HSR implementation. At first, during the investigation, the railway workers tried to attribute the blame to natural factors (lightning during a severe thunderstorm actually struck a signaling device on the line, which was disabled, turning off the automatic blocking at this block section). However, during further investigation, already under the control of the PRC government, the serious impact of the human factor was revealed, namely, unclear organization of traffic control, poor quality of dispatch control and poor control of signaling equipment.

After this incident, the construction of high-speed rail in China was temporarily (though not for long) suspended while the causes of the accident were investigated. The speed limit was lowered everywhere: on 1st class lines (G) - from 350 to 300 km/h, and on 2nd class lines (C and D) - from 230-250 to 200-220 km/h. The traffic schedule was promptly revised and small time reserves were introduced for delays and catch-ups. Starting from the end of 2011, drivers were allowed to reach a speed of 310 km/h in permitted sections only if they deviated from the schedule by more than 10 minutes, and after entering the schedule, the limit for normal traffic remained at 300 km/h. In case of deviation from these standards, both drivers and site managers were subject to large fines. The responsibility of dispatchers for compliance with the schedule has been tightened. New standards have been developed and implemented that require greater axial spacing between tracks and greater radii of curves and alignments horizontally and vertically.

In addition, the Zhejiang disaster led to numerous resignations and the final fall of the “architect of Chinese high-speed lines” - Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun. He was detained before the accident on charges of corruption, but after it new serious episodes were added to his case. He was accused of illegally raising operating speed limits and compressing railroad construction schedules that affected traffic safety.

It is curious that Minister Liu (2003–2011), who was arrested in 2011, is actually the architect of the “4+4 Plan” and the engine behind the modernization of China’s railways. Enormous amounts of money flowed through him - $80 billion per year; during his tenure, powerful engineering companies were created and gained strength, which are now carrying out the process of modernizing the railways of the Celestial Empire.

And he, with his energetic “no brakes” policy, with an emphasis on records, by mid-2011 led the rapidly growing system of high-speed lines to its most significant crisis. The Zhejiang disaster predetermined Liu's final downfall: in May 2012 he was expelled from the party, in June 2013 he went to trial, and in the fall of 2013 he was sentenced to capital punishment with a suspended sentence of 2 years.

These are not all the problems of China's high-speed railway. Criticisms include the excessively high fares, the accumulation of debts of the Ministry of Railways (now reformed and divided into two parts) and the financial component of this colossal construction. Another problem is corruption, which periodically emerges in this ramified economy through which huge sums of money flow. However, these issues are beyond the scope of this article.

Unique project: Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Speaking about China's experience in the reconstruction and construction of conventional railways, one cannot fail to mention the unique railway to Tibet, built in just 5 years (2001–2006). The highway began to be built from the city of Xining under Mao, in 1974, but construction to the station. Golmud (on the Tibetan Plateau) took about 10 years with the help of the army and prisoners. The first 814 km were opened for use in 1984.

The second, decisive and most difficult section (1142 km to Lhasa) began to be built after the death of Deng Xiaoping, in 2001. The railway from Golmud rose from an altitude of 2800 m to the Tang La pass (5072 m!) and then descended again to Lhasa (3642 m). Approximately 20 thousand workers built the highway simultaneously from two end points and completed the task in just five years. The construction price was about 3.7 billion dollars, which is approximately 6 times cheaper than the previously mentioned Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.

On the mountain section of the highway from Golmud there are 45 stations, 38 of which are automatic, without permanent staff.

After construction was completed, several railway construction records were set on this road:

• the highest railway tunnel in the world – Fenghuoshan, altitude 4900 m;
• the highest railway station in the world - Tang La, 5068 m above sea level;
• the highest point of the highway is 5072 m.

Due to the exceptional altitude of the route, special rolling stock was developed for this road. NJ2 diesel locomotives with a capacity of 5,100 hp were built using General Electric Corporation technologies. pp., adapted for work in high mountains. Not only locomotives, but cars for this line are also built using a special technology - they are actually hermetically sealed from the environment, and oxygen pressure is maintained from the inside, close to standard. Also, to prevent altitude sickness, each seat in the carriage is equipped with individual oxygen tubes. Tinted windows of cars have a special coating against excess solar radiation.

During construction there were many serious difficulties, including permafrost (about a quarter of the length of the highway). Disruption of the permafrost layer can lead to the melting of glacial formations, which in turn potentially leads to the formation of sinkholes, causing deformation and destruction of the path.

However, engineers found a solution to this set of problems: special technologies were used when laying the canvas and building bridges in this permafrost zone. The rails are laid on an embankment of cobblestones of a certain size, covered with a sand layer. The canvas cushion has a ventilation layer: the embankment is permeated through with a system of pipes to ensure ventilation, and its slopes are covered with a metal flooring that reflects sunlight and thereby prevents its heating.

On certain sections of the route there are special wells filled with liquid nitrogen. They actually freeze the foundation of the canvas, preventing the upper layer of permafrost from heating and thawing. Using this technology, the roadbed was laid over a section of 111 km. The permitted speed in this area is 100 km/h.

To compensate for elevation changes in the construction areas, a significant part of the highway is laid on overpasses. A total of 675 bridges were built along the entire route. The overpasses are built on piles, the depth of which, even in conditions of thawing of the upper layer of permafrost, prevents a negative impact on the stability of the structure. Another important advantage of overpass sections is that they do not interfere with the free migration of unique species of local animals.

The line's annual passenger turnover increased from 6.5 million people in 2006 to 11 million people in 2012, and annual freight turnover correspondingly increased from 25 million tons to 56 million tons. Over the course of a decade, it became obvious that this line had decisively accelerated the economic development of Tibet and the neighboring province of Qinghai, and also increased their tourist importance. Delivery of goods to Tibet has also become significantly cheaper.

In 2014, a continuation of the line from Lhasa to Shigatse (the closest city to Everest, approximately 120 km) with a length of 253 km was opened.

Specialized high-speed railway station Beijing-Yuzhny (built in 2008)

Conclusion

Over the past decade, China has made enormous progress in railway transport technologies, reconstructed and equipped conventional railways with new equipment, built from scratch the world's largest high-speed rail system (now more than 16 thousand km) and accumulated enormous experience in operating high-speed express trains, despite crises and growing problems. The construction of new lines and further electrification of existing ones continues. Over 10 years, the total length of the railway network increased from 60 thousand km (2004) to 103 thousand km (2014).

In 2012, the largest center for the development and production of high-speed passenger trains in China, created by the CNR corporation, was launched in Changchun. The production site (290 thousand km2) has become the largest in scale, equipped with advanced equipment and a fully equipped production base in the world. This center is capable of annually producing: 500 cars for regular passenger trains, 100 new generation high-speed trains (CRH380A), 800–1000 cars for high-speed trains, 1200 cars for intercity express trains.

Railway management reform is underway: in March 2013, the Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China was divided into administrative (Ministry of Transport) and commercial (China General Railway Corporation) structures.

The future will show how effective this measure will be. But Chinese railway workers have gained tremendous momentum and are confidently looking forward - the growth of railway infrastructure, apparently, will continue for quite a long time. And you can learn a lot from them.