. 24/7 Space News .
FAST TRACK
Tunnel visions: China bets big on subways as cities expand
By Dan Martin
Shanghai (AFP) July 21, 2017


Deep under Shanghai, workers on a flood-lit construction rig carefully install massive concrete wall sections for a new subway tunnel, adding metre-by-metre to the world's longest metro system.

The Shanghai metro's future Line 14 is part of plans to extend the already sprawling network another 35 percent by 2020 to 830 kilometres (515 miles) -- more than the distance from New York to Chicago.

Yet Shanghai is just one player in an unprecedented subway-building boom as China's massive cities race to keep pace with rising urban populations.

In 2001, four mainland Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai had rather limited networks. By end-2016 there were around 30, including some of the world's longest and busiest networks, and about a dozen more cities have gotten the green light.

State media reports say Chinese spending on subway construction could top 2 trillion yuan ($295 billion) from 2016-2020 alone.

"(China is seeing) the fastest period in human history for the development of metro systems. It's quite remarkable," said Liu Daizong, a World Resources Institute transport expert in Beijing.

- Legendary traffic jams -

Usually reserved for first-tier cities, subways are running even in third-tier population centres far inland.

The driving factor is a massive shift of humanity to Chinese cities.

Only around 12 percent of Chinese were urban-dwellers in 1950. Today the rate is about 55 percent and targeted to rise by 2030 to 70 percent -- or around one billion people.

Officially encouraged to lift millions from rural poverty and fuel economic growth, urbanisation has also brought congestion, pollution and sprawl.

Shanghai's population has nearly doubled since 2000 to 24 million -- China's largest -- and is on course for 30 million by 2030. Its traffic jams are legendary.

To keep up, its metro system has roughly doubled in the past decade, and on April 28 handled a record 11.86 million individual trips.

Along with Tokyo and Beijing, the network is among the world's top three busiest and has grown so much that there are plans to connect it with the metro of the neighbouring city of Suzhou more than 100 km away.

- Going deep -

But challenges have emerged -- new Shanghai lines must be dug as deep as a 15-storey building to squeeze under the maze of existing tunnels, said Zhou Xisheng, an engineer with state-run Shentong Metro Group which runs the system.

"As the depth increases, so does the difficulty... and the price," Zhou said, standing in a yellow hardhat next to a giant pit during a government tour of new construction.

Metro construction is notoriously expensive, and questions hover over China's ability to pay for all the plans.

But Lillian Li, a Shanghai-based credit expert with Moody's, said ruling Communist Party support should see projects through.

"Transport is a key infrastructure sector that the government would like to support for (national) integration and coordination. That's looking pretty good," Li said.

Chen Xiaohong, a transportation engineering professor at Shanghai's Tongji University, said China had no choice but to press ahead.

"Subways must be built to solve both present and future transportation problems. We cannot wait until roads get completely clogged and only then build a subway," she said.

The building spree is part of larger visions sketched out by planners that include the development of massive "city clusters" such as one grouping Shanghai and nearby cities like Suzhou and Hangzhou that could top 50 million people.

Such urban agglomerations would connect to nearby lower-tier cities and other regions of China via fast-expanding high-speed rail systems, with economic benefits all around through enhanced flow of labour, financing, resources and administrative expertise, experts said.

A transport ministry statement on Tuesday declared China to be in a "golden era" of transport development.

The resulting bonanza of infrastructure investment, likewise, will boost the national objective of spurring domestic consumption to lessen China's reliance on volatile overseas trade, said Zhu Dajian, a sustainable-development expert at Tongji University.

"Subways solve a lot of problems, raise the quality of a city, and reduce driving time and energy consumption," he said.

"In 10 to 20 years this path will be proven correct."

FAST TRACK
Thailand approves $5.2bn for delayed China rail project
Bangkok (AFP) July 11, 2017
Thailand's military government on Tuesday approved $5.2 billion to build the first stretch of a high-speed railway that will ultimately link Bangkok to southern China, a massive joint infrastructure project with Beijing that has been dogged by delays. The project is part of China's huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting the southern city of Kunming wi ... read more

Related Links
Great Train Journey's of the 21st Century


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

FAST TRACK
NASA Offers Space Station as Catalyst for Discovery in Washington

Astronauts grow cucumbers in space to help scientists understand root growth

ULA to launch Dream Chaser for cargo runs to ISS for Sierra Nevada

Space Tourist From Asian Country to Travel to ISS in 2019

FAST TRACK
ISRO Develops Ship-Based Antenna System to Track Satellite Launches

Elon Musk says successful maiden flight for Falcon Heavy unlikely

Russia to Supply Largest Ever Number of Space Rocket Engines to US This Year

Aerojet Rocketdyne tests Advanced Electric Propulsion System

FAST TRACK
For Moratorium on Sending Commands to Mars, Blame the Sun

Tributes to wetter times on Mars

Opportunity will spend three weeks at current location due to Solar Conjunction

Curiosity Mars Rover Begins Study of Ridge Destination

FAST TRACK
China develops sea launches to boost space commerce

Chinese satellite Zhongxing-9A enters preset orbit

Chinese Space Program: From Setback, to Manned Flights, to the Moon

Chinese Rocket Fizzles Out, Puts Other Launches on Hold

FAST TRACK
ASTROSCALE Raises a Total of $25 Million in Series C Led by Private Companies

LISA Pathfinder: bake, rattle and roll

Iridium Poised to Make Global Maritime Distress and Safety System History

Korean Aerospace offices raided in anti-corruption probe

FAST TRACK
Writing with the electron beam: Now in silver

Scientists announce the quest for high-index materials

A new synthesis route for alternative catalysts of noble metals

Synthetic materials systems that can "count" and sense their size

FAST TRACK
A New Search for Extrasolar Planets from the Arecibo Observatory

Gulf of Mexico tube worm is one of the longest-living animals in the world

Molecular Outflow Launched Beyond Disk Around Young Star

Eyes Wide Open for MASCARA Exoplanet Hunter

FAST TRACK
New Horizons Video Soars over Pluto's Majestic Mountains and Icy Plains

Juno spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot

New evidence in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis

NASA's New Horizons Team Strikes Gold in Argentina









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.