Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed train came into operation at the end of 2012. The entire journey of 2,298 km takes only 7 hours and 59 minutes at a speed of 300 km/h, driven by a sharp shaped rocket head electric multiple unit (EMU) locomotive. The train traverses from the vast North China Plain to the South by green hills and blue waters of Lingnan, and runs through nearly 30 cities in 6 provinces including Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong, unfolding the stunning landscape along the way from north to south. In winter, passengers will start the 8-hour journey in the frozen north and finishes with the greenery south. The four-season landscape changes will be the best takeaway from the journey. Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed train is an important part of the National High Speed Passenger Lines (Four East-West lines and Four South-North Lines) in China’s "Mid-to-Long-Term Railway Network Plan". To run on a high-speed railway of the world's longest running mileage, a high-speed EMU of Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed train consists of more than 700,000 components, 50,000 wires and 100,000 junctions, in which aluminium plays a vital role.
Lightweight is one of the prerequisites for running high-speed, therefore aluminium is applied in both Beijing-Tianjin intercity high-speed trains and Beijing-Shanghai high-speed trains. For high-speed trains with hourly speed of over 200 km that requires high degree of lightweight, leakproof and anti-corrosion, aluminium alloy vehicle bodies have their own advantages. As a matter of fact, more than 85% of a high-speed railway carriage is made from aluminium extrusion products and the entire vehicle body is welded with profiles, sheets, castings and forgings. It is expected that more aluminium alloys will be applied in the manufacturing of railway vehicles in the future.
In China, only a few aluminium processing enterprises are capable of producing aluminium extrusion products for the railway sector.
China Zhongwang’s industrial aluminium deep processing center which commenced full operation recently is able to diversify from the production of vehicle parts to welded compartments making use of its high-precision welding and surface treatment processes. It will open a new market with great potential for China Zhongwang in the railway transportation market.
