This Chinese wireless rail convoy can carry 3 Eiffel Towers!
What's the story
China has successfully tested a revolutionary wireless rail system, connecting multiple freight trains without any physical coupling. The trial was conducted yesterday along the Baoshen Railway in Inner Mongolia. A total of seven freight trains, with a combined cargo capacity of 35,000 tons (3.5 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower), were able to run much closer than usual when traveling as single units.
Capacity increase
Technology could boost China's railway freight capacity by 50%
The innovative technology has the potential to increase China's railway freight transport capacity by over 50%, without the need for laying down new rail lines. The group control system was jointly developed by China Shenhua Energy Company, a state-owned coal mining enterprise, and other domestic organizations. This development is a major step in China's efforts to expand its railway cargo capacity.
Cargo movement
China moved over 3B tons of cargo this year
According to China Daily, a state-run newspaper, the country has moved over three billion tons of cargo in the first three quarters of this year. This is part of China's wider strategy to boost its rail links with other countries. Services like the China Railway Express connect dozens of nations in Europe and Asia for goods transportation.
Cost-effective solutions
New rail lines are costly, alternative solutions proposed
Building new rail lines to meet the growing cargo demands is an expensive affair. As a solution, researchers from Central South University in Changsha, Hunan province, has proposed increasing the length of trains or shortening the intervals between train running times. Their paper was published in the journal Mathematics and suggests these measures could be more cost-effective alternatives for expanding railway capacity.