World's Longest High-Speed Rail Network | China At High Speed: Rail Science | Free Documentary

[Music] travel is more than just about getting from a to b it's about gaining new perspectives embracing fresh opportunities and experiencing memorable moments [Music] with a population of a billion and a land area of 10 million square kilometers china has found the most efficient way of bringing its people closer together [Music] it's called the high-speed rail [Music] [Music] china today leads the high-speed rail revolution by constantly finding new ways to redefine the experience exactly what they're doing with their latest trains foreign china has built more than 3 200 high-speed trains and over 35 000 kilometers of rail tracks this has been made possible by a potent combination of steely determination and human ingenuity but the high-speed rail builders of china are now facing their biggest challenge ever another man-made structure one that's over 2000 years old the great wall of china over 20 000 tourists visit this ancient marvel each day but unknown to many beneath it sits a modern-day wonder a hundred meters beneath the surface the par darling station is on the beijing jiangtyako line though just 174 kilometers long this line travels over mountains through tunnels underground and across rivers when completed the badaling station will span 39 800 square meters that's the combined area of five football pitches all of it underground this makes the badaling station the deepest high-speed rail station in china yet it's also a smart station utilizing cutting-edge technology to keep trains and commuters moving with clockwork efficiency and safety and all completed in time for this international sporting event the international olympic committee as the honor to announce the host city of the olympic winter games 2022 beijing [Applause] [Music] to efficiently facilitate the movement of athletes officials and visitors during the 2022 winter olympics the beijing chiang jiaku line will reduce travel time between three main game zones to under 50 minutes the key to this efficiency is speed [Music] foreign beyond the olympics the beijing chiang jiako line will bring greater and faster connectivity to the region's northwest of beijing [Music] foreign foreign [Music] with an immovable barrier just above and working on a tight schedule engineers must find a way to preserve this historic monument while constructing a modern marvel beneath it to keep the great wall of china from collapsing engineers use two tunneling methods microblasting and sectional excavation microblasting allows engineers to confine damage to a localized diameter so impact of each blast can be controlled it is a time-consuming process that requires debris to be removed after each blast a second method sectional excavation is also used each tunnel is divided into 13 segments and each segment is dug with great caution to prevent erosion after tunneling is completed in one section reinforcement reels are secured to the soil before digging for the next segment commences to dramatically reduce the amount of time needed for tunneling through mountains high-speed rail builders go old school with a tried and tested shaft construction method the shaft construction method requires the drilling of vertical shafts at two points set a distance apart on the face of the mountain at the bottom of each shaft tunnelers begin work in different directions this process is done with great precision so the individually excavated tunnels line up this method was successfully used in the 1900s when a railroad was built through the mountains surrounding the great wall the massive bataling tunnel project runs 24 7 in eight hour shifts to keep on schedule it employs over a thousand workers [Music] many of these workers have relocated from far away home towns to be closer to this site and some have even brought their families with them [Music] foreign [Music] those working on this project look upon it with pride they see themselves as part of a history-making endeavor an opportunity to contribute to the country's reputation and future they're focused on a common goal the successful completion of a modern day marvel of engineering and technology and the making of yet another universally recognized icon running across the expanse of the chinese landscape [Music] railway tracks and tunnels need trains lots of trains mega factories in changchun and qingdao produce thousands of these each year for domestic and international markets the latest version of the high-speed train being built is called the fushing how the pushing how is 209 meters long and has capacity for 556 passengers with a choice of business first and second-class seating as the chinese landscape flashes by inside passengers are cocooned in a roomy cabin with comfy seats power outlets and yes the all-important free wi-fi a luxurious ride they can enjoy [Music] in 2005 high-speed rail engineers set off on a mission to build a high-speed train that's 100 percent made in china one of the key people involved in this project is engineered [Music] is more comfortable more efficient and faster than previous high-speed trains in fact this is one of the fastest high-speed train in the world [Music] the surfan factory in chingtong this is one of three mega factories in china that build high-speed trains this factory alone employs nearly 12 000 people and this is where the latest model of high-speed train the pushing how is built [Music] [Music] over 900 pushing house have been built to date and with each new iteration cutting edge technology is used to make improvements to its design some 2 500 smart sensors placed along the length of each train monitor train operations ambient temperatures and braking systems to ensure passenger safety compared to its predecessor the hershey hull the fishing house improved head design has made it more aerodynamic the resulting 12 reduction in air resistance translates to seventeen percent less energy consumed per hundred kilometers [Music] and this means lower operating costs it isn't only these china-made high-speed trains that run efficiently even the process of designing these trains from outer shell to interiors is a model of cost time efficiency all thanks to technology that makes the imagined seem very real this is the silphang factory's cave system a virtual reality room that helps greatly compress the design process for engineers to pick only the best solutions for the next phase of testing i will usually design 20 new design models and then we will find 10 of the best aerodynamic performance to take the wind tunnel test and also the practical line test and then we will choose the best proposal with the best aerodynamic performance used since 2010 virtual reality technology has made spending valuable man hours painstakingly creating true-to-scale models obsolete in the past we have to build a concrete model to feel the color and the dimension of the train it will cost us a lot of money and time the digital model in this cave system are usually be built by full-scale one-to-one ratio the cave system allows designers to spatially and aesthetically experience the designs and explore options quickly with a few computer keystrokes but the ultimate test of a train's ride worthiness is real life experience to commuters the hard work that goes on behind the scenes before these trains begin operating is transparent all that matters is a smooth safe speedy and comfortable ride [Music] before we like go to the ginger juices at southwest xiaotong university a research team is working to set new standards for comfort in high-speed rail [Music] professor lin's team conducts a series of tests data collected from these tests is critical for creating the optimal conditions for passenger comfort and they're doing it with the help of china's most famous critter the beloved panda even with the introduction of the railway in china nearly a century and a half ago traveling across its vast hinterland was arduous and time-consuming the high-speed rail has changed this by figuratively compressing space and time and offering more comfort than was once even imagined using a high-tech train simulator professor lin and his team are conducting experiments to test the physical and psychological effects of vibration noise air pressure temperature and humidity on passengers and [Music] unlike the established safety and comfort benchmarks of the aviation industry the regulators of china's high-speed rail travel are still defining benchmarks for their industry and they're determined to set the bar high so about here from technical design to ergonomics china is on a quest to perfect its 21st century symbol but additional help is needed even from some unexpected friends [Music] [Music] [Music] it isn't just high-speed rail builders who conduct experiments on their trains videos of passengers putting the high-speed rails reputed smooth ride to the test have been chalking up views on the internet coins balanced on windowsills of high-speed trains are seen to remain standing even at 300 kilometers per hour one secret of creating a ride this smooth while traveling at such speeds lies beneath the train the deceivingly ordinary looking tracks these high-speed wonders run on the chinese have been using a method of making seamless rail tracks since the 1950s today they're made in the steel factory 30 kilometers north of beijing [Music] one foreign both ends of five 100 meter steel rail segments are heated up to a thousand degrees celsius then welded into a seamless 500 meter long rail each segment is carefully inspected and tested for durability once approved these segments are transported by rail of course to railway construction sites for installation when finally laid out end to end these 500 meter segments will form tracks with as few joints as possible less joints means less bumps and less bumps mean a smoother ride 4500 trains run across these tracks every day with such heavy usage the wear and tear to tracks is something that's religiously monitored while seemingly unglamorous the work that goes on here is critical to the high-speed rails continued success in fact the safety of 1.7 billion passengers who use it each year depends to understand the effects of prolonged wear and tear on rail durability professor songli of central south university artificially ages samples of track in the lab to better understand how acidity heat and vibration affect outside the lab over 35 000 kilometers of high-speed rail tracks are meticulously checked throughout the year this is done manually at night in all kinds of weather a task that must be completed in just four hours because the high-speed rail requires high-speed maintenance [Music] the last of china's high-speed trains rolls into the depot for the night track maintenance crews prepare for an important activity ensuring the tracks and other equipment are shipshape the safety of commuters is what's at stake so there's nothing left to chance the health and condition of cable supplying electricity to the high-speed rail and the tracks themselves are examined for defects every night throughout thea maintenance teams across china conduct stringent checks on high-speed rail tracks every piece of equipment and every team member is accounted for before and after each shift in the course of a year each 18 to 20 man crew covers 150 of over 000 kilometers of high-speed rail tracks it is a tedious process but one that's absolutely necessary before maintenance can begin power cables must be earth to prevent foreign the entire process begins with the cutting off of the main power supply to the appropriate stretch of track then crews earth the electricity on either end of the stretch not unlike sticking a test pen in a power socket a high voltage detector is used to confirm there is no live electricity running in the cables only then can actual track maintenance take place meanwhile the track team prepares to inspect the track it's laborious work and the harsh weather isn't helping uh unfortunately such work can only be done at night yeah track inspection is a precise process that requires specialized training to make the grade tracks must amongst other things display uniformity of width and level equipment is used to help crew ascertain track geometry gauge measurement super elevation stationing and chainage technicalities that translate into speed safety and comfort for high-speed rail passengers time is off the essence for track maintenance with such a small window before the trains roll again crews split up to cover more ground each time a high-speed train travels the line the tracks and adjacent structures are subject to vibrations that can loosen nuts and bolts if these land on the tracks the consequences could be dire this explains the degree of care and attention to detail with which these maintenance technicians carry out their nightly task they also manually check the integrity of overhead cable structures foreign where human lives are concerned no detail is too small or innocuous nuts bolts fastenings cables every inch of track is thoroughly examined it is 4 30 am maintenance is done for the night and the first trains of the day can safely take to the tracks the innovations of technology and efficiency aren't just visible in china's high-speed trains or the tracks they run on [Music] at the great wall site examples of efficient innovation have popped up in the construction process as well running the beijing chiang jiako line beneath the great wall is only one challenging aspect of this project the other are the obstacles mother nature has put before china's high-speed rail builders obstacles that need outside-the-box solutions solutions that can help them negotiate large tracts of land vast bodies of water and the onset of bone chilling winter temperatures this factory in waialae county china turns out prefab 800 tonne cement blocks needed to build viaducts for the high-speed rails beijing jiangjiako line the world's first intelligent railway chief engineer 1 is in charge of production here to facilitate more efficient construction pop-up factories like this have sprung up where needed along the beijing junction line everything about this line is smart its entire ecosystem leverages an advanced technologies for efficiency accuracy and cost effectiveness with every detail computed with minute precision 130 tons of cement are poured into 32 meter long molds and left to harden for 48 hours the cements must be kept at a constant temperature and humidity to avoid cracking the next challenge is moving these giant blocks mammoth machines transport these cement blocks to the actual construction site on the bridge earlier [Music] in the construction of the beijing chiang jiako line the overcoming of one challenge only seems to lead to another this time it's something that's practically impossible for china's high-speed rail builders to control the weather with winter approaching temperatures in beijing will drop to less than -15 degrees celsius engineers are rushing to complete construction of the guanting bridge an important segment of the route before the surface of the reservoir freezes over located about 100 kilometers from beijing quanting reservoir is a backup reservoir serving the capital city to reduce the risk of pollution sections of the bridge are resembled on shore then pushed out across the water the strong winds around the reservoir are perfect for a wind farm but a nightmare for a bridge case in point the 1940 collapse of the tacoma narrows bridge the usa strong winds caused excessive vibrations that twisted m [Music] with over 60 of china's high-speed rail lines built across bridges there is absolutely no room for error professor her and his team are recreating the conditions these bridges foreign various wind conditions are simulated in the lab data captured is analyzed to give engineers clues on how to improve the stability of bridges the pressure generated by a speeding trade traveling in and out of a tunnel can also be a destructive force for the train the tunnel and the people living nearby studies on how to minimize the effects of shock waves generated in such situations are conducted at the central south university track research lab in changsha fund foreign when trains enter and leave a tunnel at nearly 400 kilometers an hour micro pressure waves are formed these may cause the train to vibrate excessively resulting in damage or discomfort to passengers the smallest change in the conditions within the tunnel can have magnified effects indonesia professor liang's team recreates tunnel scenarios in the lab they test how different tunnel shapes affect air pressure and how this in turn affects trains as they enter and exit a tunnel they also study the effects of friction generated by two speeding trains that pass each other in a tunnel [Music] no effort is being spared to ensure the beijing changcha coal line is running smoothly and safely before the flames of the 24th winter olympics begin burning in china futuristic travel for an ancient sporting spectacle it's another day in china and four million passengers begin their daily commute orchestrating rail operations in the greater beijing area are those who work in the beijing control station hundreds of pairs of eyes banks of cctv cameras and computers monitor train movements track switching and station operations should an emergency situation arise instructions are relayed in real time to train drivers food it's been reported that during peak periods like chinese new year dispatchers here are responsible for the safe passage of some 55 million people they also work to mitigate the effects of severe weather conditions china's high-speed rail network is expanding and demand for rail sector professionals is growing starting with those who are at the helm of high speed trains [Music] this school is run with military-like discipline reflecting the heavy responsibility the job they're training for comes with the lives of high-speed rail passengers lie in their hands wuhan high speed training center is china's only centralized academy for high-speed train drivers 15 simulators here each costing 33 million us dollars prepares drivers for any contingency in addition to preparing trainees as train drivers rail management and track and electrical cable maintenance courses are also offered before embarking on the five-year high-speed train drivers course students must already have two years of experience at the helm of a regular training seven thousand students graduate every year to keep abreast with advancements in the high-speed rail industry wuhan high-speed training center constantly upgrades its facilities and upskills its instructors so they are always on the cutting edge foreign china has built the world's largest high-speed rail network it's already changed how people live work and play from train design and engineering studios to laboratories and research facilities from mega factories and construction sites to training centers [Music] from ensuring every minute piece of the system is in place to oversee the entire daily operations of the network every effort is taken with one clear focus to create a 21st century marvel in an ancient land and to do it fast [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 226,545

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), Engineering, Engineering Documenatry, high speed, china engineering, train documentary, trains documentary, high speed trains

Id: MK7-cfkYz5s

Length: 43min 37sec (2617 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 16 2022