China and Future HSR

China Reform Monitor says China will be at hub of an HSR network connecting Europe and Asia:

China is constructing three primary high-speed rail lines: a southern line through Southeast Asia to Singapore; a western line from Xinjiang through Central Asia; and a northern line through Russia’s gas fields to Europe. A proposed South Asia branch will start in Kunming and run through Burma to New Delhi, Lahore and on to Tehran to join the Central Asia line. Beijing has concluded agreements with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and negotiations with over a dozen countries are underway. Construction has begun on the southern line, running from Kunming to Singapore. In the best-case scenario the rail link will be completed by 2025, when a train from Beijing to London will take only two days. But differences in countries’ track gages and poor track quality in some areas hinder the project. In Cambodia, over 650 km of track needs renovation and Burma’s track is below the required standards, The Hindu reports.

[Editor’s Note: In December, China opened the world's fastest rail link between Wuhan and Guangzhou, where a 350 kmph-speed train covers the 1,068 km journey in three hours. By 2012, China will have the world's largest high-speed domestic railway network including 42 high-speed lines running 13,000 km.]

Meanwhile our vision-free, Middle East-obsessed elites blow the national budget shoring up their pals on Wall Street while making Afghanistan safe for Chinese expansion and funding our disaster in Iraq. Our elites think too small. Think big! And the people will follow.
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