Railway Innovation: China's Fuxing bullet trains take first family photo

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The newest bullet trains to hit China's tracks will take us into an exciting new world of travel in 2019. China's national rail operator says that the new "Fuxing" family of trains will be in use soon. CGTN's Zheng Yibing shows us what we can expect the next time we travel.

For the first time ever, a family photo of China's state of the art Fuxing bullet trains.

While sharing the same basic design, they vary in speed and purpose.

Compared with previous versions, which could travel up to 350 kilometers per hour, the new trains adapt to various environments and different travel needs.

ZHANG BO, RESEARCHER CHINA ACADEMY OF RAILWAY SCIENCES "The new trains are more comfortable, and help reduce manufacturing and operation costs, while improving energy efficiency and conservation."

The new trains will travel at speeds of 160 and 250 kilometers per hour.

The former will soon join hands with existing 17-car trains to transport riders during the Spring Festival travel rush.

The latter is being tested and scheduled for use a year from now.

The three family members will lead or replace the current Chinese trains.

ZHENG YIBING BEIJING "The Fuxing bullet trains are the epitome of China's high-speed railway industry. There is strong scientific research and development behind them."

According to China Railway, various local technologies have helped solve problems in fields like paving and maintaining roadbeds and tracks, as well building safe bridges and tunnels for the bullet trains.

And efforts to further improve train infrastructure are being carried out by the entire Chinese railway industry.

HU SUOTING, RESEARCHER CHINA ACADEMY OF RAILWAY SCIENCES "Efforts include engineering, equipment management, security, as well as information and intelligence technologies that we will focus on more."

Experts say passengers are priority number one, particularly during China's national holidays like February's Spring Festival, when millions travel long distance nationwide.

HU SUOTING, RESEARCHER CHINA ACADEMY OF RAILWAY SCIENCES "The days of lining up in front of ticket offices is gradually becoming a thing of the past, and e-tickets will eventually become the norm."

By the end of the year, bullet train lines in China will cover 29,000 kilometers, accounting for two-thirds of the world's total.

And next, China will develop and equip smarter trains, which experts say will be in use by the 2022 Winter Olympics, with more channels opening for faster and safer trips. ZHENG YIBING, CGTN, BEIJING.