China is going all out for the Beijing Olympics, presenting a new driverless bullet train designed specifically for the games.
The driverless bullet train moves at 217 mph and has eight carriages that can carry 564 passengers per trip. It will shuttle passengers through the 108-mile journey between the Chinese capital and satellite venues in the city of Zhangjiakou, precisely in time for the Beijing Games.
The train was custom-built for the Beijing Games, according to state-run Xinhua News. It includes a 5G-connected broadcast studio where journalists can broadcast live.
According to Xinhua, the train will take passengers from Beijing’s downtown district to the Olympic venues in Zhangjiakou in just 50 minutes. It takes three hours on a standard express train.
According to the state-run media agency CGTN, construction on the railway began in 2018. Then in 2019, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou connection was finished.
A separate Xinhua video tour of the train’s interior revealed customized lockers. Athletes may store their ski equipment there while riding the train.
“To have so much advanced technology brought together on this train, and to present it in front of the world, this shows China’s comprehensive strengths in terms of the train system,” Zhu Yan, deputy director of the train’s maker, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., told the state-linked Global Times on Thursday.
On February 4, 2022, the Beijing Olympic Games will begin. The country intends to establish a “closed-loop” bubble. Athletes, officials, broadcasters, and also journalists will be able to move in specific areas.
