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☆ Cities brace for floods as heavier-than-usual storms drench China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) - Rescue services braced for flooding as heavier-than-expected summer storms rolled across China as forecast on Friday, drenching Beijing and other major cities. Historically, China enters its peak rainy season in late July, but extreme weather has made storms more intense and unpredictable, exposing heavily built-up megacities with poor drainage to sudden floods and waterlogging. In Beijing, authorities have deployed this week over 2,600 people to drain 87 pumping stations in advance and clear thousands of water drainage outlets along roads, municipal authorities said in a statement on Friday. In July 2021, extreme rain in the central Henan city of Zhengzhou killed nearly 400 people, including 14 who drowned in a submerged subway line. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: drenching, Ryan Woo, Liz Lee, Miral Organizations: Beijing Public Transport, Authorities, Xinhua, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, drenching Beijing, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Wuxi city, Gansu, Zhengzhou

☆ Typhoon Talim forecast to hit southern China late Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Liz Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China Meteorological Administration issued an orange alert, saying the typhoon was expected to increase in intensity to become a severe typhoon by the time it makes landfall at night along the southern coast from Guangdong to Hainan. China has a four-tier colour-coded weather warning system under which orange is the second highest alert. Talim is set to be the fourth typhoon this year but the first to make landfall in China, according to weather predictions. The national forecaster urged authorities in Guangdong and Hainan to be on standby to respond to the typhoon. Chinese national weather forecaster said rainfall in several cities in the southeastern Fujian and eastern Jiangsu provinces reached 200-300mm (7.87-11.81 inches) within three hours early Monday morning.

Persons: Talim, Liz Lee, Jessie Pang, Lincoln, Himani Organizations: China Meteorological Administration, Authorities, Sunday, Zhuhai Jinwan Airport, Meilan, Qionghai Boao, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Guangdong, Hainan, Zhanjiang City, Hong Kong, Guangxi, Xinhua, Zhuhai, Hainan's, Haikou, Qionghai, Fujian, Jiangsu

☆ Malaysia seeks proposals to revive high-speed rail project with Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 (Reuters) - Malaysia on Tuesday said it was seeking proposals from private firms to develop a high-speed railway between its capital Kuala Lumpur and neighbouring Singapore, reviving a multi-billion-dollar project called off more than two years ago. Malaysia and Singapore had cancelled a plan to build a 350-kilometre (217-mile) rail line connecting the two countries after they failed to agree on several proposed changes to the project. MyHSR invited local and international firms and consortia to submit proposals. Singapore indicated last year the country is open to fresh proposals from Malaysia on the project, according to media. Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Kuala Lumpur, Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: MyHSR, Chen Lin, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: MyHSR Corp, Speed, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, Europe, Malaysian

☆ Police and protesters injured in clashes at French-Italian tunnel site
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Paris CNN —A dozen police officers and several protesters were injured Saturday in clashes at the construction site of an Alpine railway tunnel connecting France and Italy. Around 2,000 police were mobilized to the site to face more than 3,000 people protesting the 57-kilometer tunnel project that will connect the French city of Lyon with Turin in Italy upon completion, France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said. Thierry Guillot/Maxppp/Zuma PressAuthorities in the department of Savoie had issued a ban on demonstrations on public roads near construction site. “Can we just take a moment to wonder why these radical ecologists are against the train,” Houlié told Franceinfo on Sunday. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon rejected some protesters being called “eco-terrorists” in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV Sunday.

Persons: Paris CNN —, Gérald Darmanin, Thierry Guillot, Maxppp, ” Sacha Houlié, ” Houlié, Franceinfo, Jean, Luc Mélenchon, ” Mélenchon, France Unbowed Organizations: Paris CNN, France’s, Zuma Press Authorities, EU, CNN, BFMTV Locations: France, Italy, Lyon, Turin, Savoie, Paris, Milan

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy it is taking California so long to complete its high-speed railIn 2008, California voted yes to build the nation's first high-speed railway. The plan is to build an electric train that will connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in two hours and forty minutes. But 15 years later, there is not a single mile of track laid, and there isn't enough money to finish the project. The latest estimates show it will cost up to $128 billion to complete the entire system from LA to San Francisco. But progress has been made and construction is well underway.

☆ California's high-speed rail is running out of money, but progress has been made
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jeniece Pettitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The latest estimates from the California High-Speed Rail Authority suggest it will cost between $88 billion and $128 billion to complete the entire system from LA to San Francisco. The project has spent $9.8 billion so far, according to Brian Kelly, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. "One of the biggest hurdles clearly is funding," said Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency. The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill did allocate $66 billion for rail, but much of that will go to Amtrak and money was not specifically set aside for California's high-speed rail. And then this is the ultimate high-speed rail."

☆ Der Spiegel cartoon of India reopens old wounds in world's new most populous country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The illustration, published last month in German news magazine Der Spiegel, shows a throng of jubilant Indians on an old and overcrowded locomotive – many standing on the roof – as it overtakes a sleek Chinese bullet train. But more than three quarters of a century later, critics of the Der Spiegel cartoon say it is unfair to view India through the lens of poverty. CNN has reached out to Der Spiegel for comment. Sankhadeep Banerjee/NurPhoto/Getty Images‘Suck up to China’The Der Spiegel cartoon “plays with very old fashioned clichés,” Germany’s ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, told Indian news agency ANI. “Der Spiegel caricaturing India in this manner has no resemblance to reality,” Gupta, the senior government adviser wrote on Twitter.

☆ The US still waits for its high-speed rail revolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

So why doesn’t the United States have a high-speed rail network like those? Many Americans have no concept of high-speed rail and fail to see its value. William C. Vantuono, editor-in-chief of Railway Age“Many Americans have no concept of high-speed rail and fail to see its value. Corridors for the greatest potentialBrightline West and CHSR offer templates for the future expansion of high-speed rail in North America. “Where those conditions apply in Europe and Asia, high-speed rail reduces air’s share of the market from 100% to near zero.

☆ The high-speed train in Saudi Arabia that connects Mecca and Medina
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia CNN —In the distant past, Muslim pilgrims came to the holy city of Mecca on foot. Haramain means “two sanctuaries” in Arabic, named for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina that sit on the line’s opposite ends. Business class passengers on the train can watch seat-back TVs. Even on a short journey like the one from Jeddah to KAEC, business class passengers are entitled to a full meal service. When it comes to high-speed railway, it seems as though the Haramain line is only the beginning in Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Tawfiq Al Rabiah, ” Al Rabiah, King Abdullah, King, Saudi riyals, Lilit Marcus, Foster, they’re, KAEC, isn’t, it’s, Umrah, Khalid al, Falih Organizations: CNN, Saudi Arabia CNN —, King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Abdullah Economic, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi, CNN Station, Foster + Partners, du Nord, Getty, Saudi Gazette, Bandar, Saudi Railway Polytechnic, Saudi Arabia’s Investment Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Hajj, Medina, Jeddah’s, Jeddah Al, New York, Paris, du, Sulimaniyah, Bandar Aldandani, AFP, KAEC, umrah, Islam, Riyadh

☆ Indonesia, China agree $1.2 bln cost overrun for high-speed train - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Indonesia and China have agreed to a budget overrun to the tune of $1.2 billion for the first high-speed railway project in the Southeast Asian country, an Indonesian government official told parliament on Monday. The project was previously estimated to be $2 billion over budget, raising the total cost to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.36 billion), according to the consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state companies building the railway, known as PT KCIC. "We agreed on the cost overrun figure of $1.2 billion. Further details including an additional loan from the China Development Bank to cover the extra costs are to be finalised within a month, he added. ($1 = 15,190.0000 rupiah)Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China, Hong Kong resume high-speed rail link after 3 years of Covid curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Staff members hold a sign at Guangzhou South Railway Station to celebrate the resumption of high-speed rail services on January 15, 2023 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China. Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland resumed their high-speed train services starting from January 15 after a three-year suspension due to Covid-19. China resumed on Sunday high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it dismantles travel curbs after Beijing scrapped quarantine for arrivals a week earlier. "For the past three years, due to the pandemic, it has not been easy to enter China in any way," added Mang, originally from the southern city of Guangzhou. "I have not been able to go home for a long time."

[1/5] A Chinese police officer stands guard at in the mainland port area of West Kowloon High-Speed Train Station Terminus on the first day of the resumption of rail service to mainland China, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Hong Kong, China, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG/BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - China resumed on Sunday high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it dismantles travel curbs after Beijing scrapped quarantine for arrivals a week earlier. Operations at West Kowloon station have been smooth, with a flow of about 1,400 passengers by 10 a.m., said Cheung Chi-keung, head of operator MTR Corp’s (0066.HK) cross-boundary operations. Hong Kong's transport secretary, Lam Sai-hung, said he could not confirm when long-haul journeys would resume, but that would be after talks with mainland authorities. Reporting by Joyce Zhou and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Martin Quin Pollard and Shuyan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Egypt commits to IMF to slow projects, increase fuel prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Among its pledges is one to slow investment in public projects, including national projects, so as to reduce inflation and conserve foreign currency, without specifying where cuts might fall. The IMF board of directors approved the 46-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on Dec. 17. Egypt's pound has been allowed to fluctuate more than before since its third devaluation in less than a year last week. Under the facility, the IMF will provide Egypt with about $700 million in the fiscal year that ends in June. Reporting by Patrick Werr, Editing by Aidan Lewis and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ With Tesla battery packs and largest hydrogen tank in Japan, Panasonic tests a factory of the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Tim Hornyak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a bullet train speeds by in the background, a liquid hydrogen tank towers over solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells at Panasonic's Kusatsu plant in Japan. Combined with a Tesla Megapack storage battery, the hydrogen and solar can deliver enough electricity to power the site's Ene-Farm fuel cell factory. As bullet trains whiz by at 285 kilometers per hour, Panasonic's Norihiko Kawamura looks over Japan's tallest hydrogen storage tank. The 14-meter structure looms over the Tokaido Shinkansen Line tracks outside the ancient capital of Kyoto, as well as a large array of solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells and Tesla Megapack storage batteries. The power sources can generate enough juice to run part of the manufacturing site using renewable energy only.

☆ China will support Pakistan in stabilising its financial situation - Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) - China will continue to support Pakistan as it tries to stabilise its financial situation, state media quoted President Xi Jinping as saying on Wednesday, during a visit by Pakistan's prime minister to Beijing. Pakistan was expected to seek debt relief from China, particularly the rolling over of bilateral debt of around $23 billion. China has been involved in major mining and infrastructure projects in Pakistan, including the deep-water Gwadar port, all part of the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China will also export technology for a 160 km/h high-speed railway train to Pakistan, state broadcaster CCTV said on Wednesday. China welcomes Pakistan to expand high-quality agricultural exports to the country, and is willing to deepen cooperation in areas including the digital economy, e-commerce, photovoltaic and other new energy sources, Xi said.

The Frecciarossa is one of Europe's fastest trains and can reach speeds of 400 kilometers per hour. Pier Marco Tacca/Getty ImagesThe Frecciarossa, which translates as "red arrow," runs throughout Italy on the country's high-speed railway network. The fleet consists of two trains, including the Frecciarossa 1000, which can travel at top speeds of 400 kph, and the Frecciarossa ETR 500, which can hit 300 kph, per train operator Trenitalia's website. This makes Italy's iconic, red train the fastest fleet of trains in the country and one of the quickest high-speed trains in Europe. Its affordability compared to other trains in Europe makes it an attractive mode of transport for passengers to reach places in a shorter time.

☆ Factbox: Windfall taxes, spending cuts on table as Hunt tries to fix UK budget
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Britain's latest finance minister Jeremy Hunt needs to raise an estimated 40 billion pounds ($45 billion) to repair public finances. British banks hold around 947 billion pounds of reserves at the BoE, largely as a result of quantitative easing that the central bank is yet to reverse. Cost estimates for completing HS2 soared to 100 billion pounds before the Leeds link was removed. The change represented a saving of 3.5 billion pounds in its first year in 2021. Asked on Oct. 19 about the foreign aid budget, Truss said more details would be set out in due course.

Then came the pandemic and a property crisis, and with them, clear evidence of the limits of the debt-fuelled, investment-driven model that had propelled China's economy and businesses like Shores'. "If there is no investment, consumption will be like a tree without roots," said Jia, who previously led a finance ministry think tank. Many uncertainties hang over China's economy: the zero-COVID policy, a crackdown on tech and other industries, geopolitical tensions and rising borrowing costs in export markets. China is widely expected to miss this year's 5.5% GDP growth target and Natixis estimates growth may not even top 3% a year into Xi's next mandate. Oxford Economics expects average annual GDP growth this decade to halve from the 1999-2019 average to 4.5% and slow to 3% in the decade after.

☆ Indonesia's China-funded rail project on track despite cost overrun
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Yuddy Cahya Budiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Indonesian President Joko Widodo stands beside an Electric Multiple Unit high-speed train for a rail link project part of China's Belt and Road Initiative at Tegalluar train depot in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, October 13, 2022. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak/via REUTERSTEGALLUAR, Indonesia, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A high-speed railway project in Indonesia, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, is on track for a 2023 launch despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries about the project being over-budget, officials said on Thursday. KCIC has said the project is facing a cost overrun of about $2 billion, raising the estimated total cost to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.36 billion). KCIC's President Director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi confirmed the discrepancy in cost calculations, saying negotiations are underway to resolve it. Dwiyana said discussions were ongoing as to whether Chinese President Xi Jinping may witness a trial run of the rail project when he visits the Southeast Asian country next month for the G20 leaders' summit.

☆ The world's fastest trains -- from China to France
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-10 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Chogo/Xinhua/Getty ImagesAs well as boasting the longest network of high-speed lines in the world, China now has the fastest scheduled trains on the planet. A statement of intent by China’s booming railway technology industry, the Fuxing trains have been developed from previous generations of high-speed trains, which were based on technology imported from Europe and Japan. The design also forms the basis of the Siemens “Velaro” family of high-speed trains, which has been sold to Spain, Russia, Turkey, China and to Eurostar for its second generation international trains. Europe’s first dedicated high-speed network is still its best known and most successful, reaching out well beyond France’s borders. Frecciarossa services operate across Italy’s T-shaped high-speed network, linking Turin, Milan and Venice in the north with Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples.

Persons: Germany's, Philipp von Ditfurth, Thomas Coex, Europe’s, Kiyoshi Ota, Al Boraq, Morocco's Al Boraq, ‘ Al, Boraq, Oriol, Iryo, Frecciarossa, Ed Jones, Alessandro Rota, sandstorms don’t, HHR Organizations: CNN, Japan’s, Vitesse, Getty, Germany's Inter, City Express, Express, Siemens, Eurostar, Bloomberg, JR, Japan Railways, Tohoku, TGV Euroduplex, Alstom, Flickr, Images Spain, Alta Velocidad, Ouigo Espana, Italian State Railways, Alitalia, Arrows, Spanish National Railways, Railway, Haramain, Speed Railway Locations: Scandinavia, Europe, Asia, France, China, Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, England, Africa, Morocco, Egypt, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Russia, United States, Shanghai, Shanghai’s Pudong, Hangzhou, Chogo, Xinhua, Japan, Beijing, Hong Kong, Harbin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Turkey, AFP, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Strasbourg, Lille, London, Switzerland, Tokyo, Shin, Aomori, Hokkaido, Honshu, Tsugaru Strait, Tangier, Casablanca, Kenitra, Rabat, Oriol Paris, Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Valencia, Galicia, Barcelona, Alta Velocidad Espana, Korea, South, Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Mokpo, Pyeongchang, Turin, Milan, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Saudi, Bandar Aldandani, Mecca, Medina

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