Six gears added to high-speed railway

CONTRACTS for the Shanghai-Beijing high-speed railway project worth 83.7 billion yuan (US$11.5 billion) will be shared by six companies.

The announcement has been made by the Railway Engineering Business Center under the Ministry of Railways.

The China Railway Construction Company Ltd is the biggest winner with 40 percent of the total contract value of the project, China's single biggest investment in infrastructure. Its two subsidiary companies won two of the six sections of the project.

Two companies from the China Railway Group Ltd won two sections. The Sino-Hydro Corp and the China Communications Construction Co won the remaining two.

Officials said the six companies were selected from 15 competitors from five groups because they made lower bids. Construction of the 1,318-kilometer railway is expected to start before the Spring Festival.

The information release is expected to help raise the stock price of the China Railway Group Ltd, a listed company on the mainland and Hong Kong stock markets, securities experts said.

As the infrastructure construction contracts are shared by domestic companies, the technology consultation bidding will be open to firms around the world.

Sun Zhang, a professor of railway planning who took part in the project's feasibility study, said China was still deciding whether to use trains made at home or abroad for the project.

The railway project is expected to cost 200 billion yuan - a budget that includes trains, management and logistics. The Ministry of Railways will fund nearly 80 percent of it. The remainder will come from local governments and companies. The high-speed rail link, scheduled for completion in five years, will cut by more than half the travelling time between Shanghai and the capital - from 12 hours to less than five.

The trains will travel at up to 350 kilometers per hour and 21 stations will be set up along the route.

The Shanghai terminal of the new railway will be built at the Hongqiao Transport Hub, an area which will serve as a transfer station for the Hongqiao International Airport, a Maglev station, at least three Metro stations and bus stations.