China high-speed rail line hit by power outages

TWO weeks after its grand opening, China’s flagship high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai has left passengers stranded for hours due to power outages. Travellers waiting for delayed trains have also found that the new stations along the line lacked snack shops and comfortable waiting rooms. The express has been closed by power failures three times in the two weeks since it opened. A power cut on Tuesday halted 30 trains.

The first cut was caused by lightning hitting the overhead line, while the second remained unexplained, the China Daily reported, though it could have been linked to poor wiring or improper installation.
On Wednesday, one of its trains broke down, forcing hundreds of passengers to transfer to another train to complete their journey, said state news agency Xinhua.

The train cuts travel time on the 1,318-km run from the capital to China's financial centre to a mere four hours on a good day. But the Ministry of Railways has already decided to reduce maximum speed on the line from the promised 350km per hour, to reduce operating costs and in response to a corruption investigation that raised concerns over construction quality.