23 August, 2017
After cutting back the speed of the Beijing to Shanghai bullet train following a deadly crash, China is set to again make it one of the world's fastest.
But as China seeks to stay ahead globally in its rail services and sell its bullet trains and railways as part of the "Belt and Road Initiative", it has chose to relaunch the world's fastest train service.
Starting next month, a new generation of trains will travel between Beijing and Shanghai, taking the 1250km trip in just four and a half hours, shaving an hour off the current travel time of regular bullet trains.
Come September 21, when the new trains are up and running, speeds will return to 350 km/h, but will be capable of going 400 km/h (248 mph).
A train driver prepares to operate the Fuxing bullet train.
The top speed of the Fuxing or "rejuvenation" bullet trains was capped at 300km/h (186mph) in 2011 following two crashes that killed 40 people.
From next week, some of the trains will once again be allowed to run at a higher speed of about 350 km/h. According to the Associated Press, the country has spent $360 billion building the network of high-speed rail, creating the largest in the world.
The Chinese Government has laid over 20,000 kilometres of high-speed rail, with plans to extend this by adding a further 10,000 kilometres by 2020.
The train can reach a top speed of 431 kilometres per hour, but reaches that speed for just a few seconds on its seven-minute journey between Shanghai's Pudong district and the city's worldwide airport.
