China Offers High-Speed Rail to California

[dtotire]

China Offers High-Speed Rail to California




BEIJING — Nearly 150 years after American railroads brought in thousands of Chinese laborers to build rail lines across the West, China is poised once again to play a role in China Offers High-Speed Rail to CaliforniaAmerican rail construction. But this time, it would be an entirely different role: supplying the technology, equipment and engineers to build high-speed rail lines.
The Chinese government has signed cooperation agreements with the State of California and General Electric to help build such lines. The agreements, both of which are preliminary, show China’s desire to become a big exporter and licensor of bullet trains traveling 215 miles an hour, an environmentally friendly technology in which China has raced past the United States in the last few years.

“We are the most advanced in many fields, and we are willing to share with the United States,” Zheng Jian, the chief planner and director of high-speed rail at China’s railway ministry, said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has closely followed progress in the discussions with China and hopes to come here later this year for talks with rail ministry officials, said David Crane, the governor’s special adviser for jobs and economic growth, and a board member of the California High Speed Rail Authority.


more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/business/global/08rail.html?ref=us

[DavidDvorkin]

1. And xenophobic heads explode.

[Ex Lurker]

17. It's not xenophobic to recognize that when you can't build your own basic infrastructure

you're no longer a first-world country.

[liberal N proud]

2. Another sign of the end of the US Empire.

The fact that we will rely on Chinese Technology means that we no longer have the brain trust in the US or the resources to build our own railroads.

Will US workers build the Chinese railways in the US?

[salguine]

3. If they build trains the way they build everything else, I think California should take a pass.

[Tesha]

6. Chinese vendors build to whatever quality level the customer contracts for.

Many American distributors contract for shit manufactured
as cheaply as possible and the Chinese vendors will happily
accommodate them.

But make no mistake: they can also build absolutely first-
quality products as well.

Tesha

[Tutonic]

9. Yes, built on the backs of imprisoned or impoverished farmers.

But make no mistake: if those farmers get it wrong, they'll meet their maker ahead of schedule. Do we really need to deal with a tyranical nation? I'd rather pollute my block than ride a bullet train that was built with the blood of imprisoned farmers.

[Tesha]

11. You don't actually have any contact with the Chinese high-tech industry, do you? (NT)

[d_r]

4. no way

there's no way I'm taking a train from china to california, high speed or not.

[doc03]

5. Man that will be one hell of a bridge or will it

be a tunnel?

[Arctic Dave]

7. Good one. LOL

[kestrel91316]

8. Which toxic waste are they gonna dispose of by mixing into the

steel and other materials THIS time??

[Heywood J]

10. I'm thinking about the tons of radioactive steel in Taiwan that was melted down

and used for rebar in new construction. You can dispose of a lot of such things when building railways - in the trains, the track, and the stations.

[Tesha]

12. Are you sure you're not thinking of this incident? (Radio-cobalt contamination of steel from Mexico)

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/03/us/around-the-nation-radioactive-pedestals-going-back-to-mexico.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/06/us/us-and-mexico-cooperating-to-restrict-radioactive-steel.html

[Heywood J]

14. No, that's a separate one. That was used in table legs, etc.

The Taiwanese melted down radioactive steel from a former nuclear reactor and used it for rebar in buildings.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2477708/

[DRoseDARs]

13. It's nice to have one of these threads without what's-her-face's paid pro-China trolling.

That said I have misgivings, like others, over the wisdom of buying Chinese-built anything that involves moving large numbers of people. I appreciate that the Chinese government wants to be a good trade partner and this would certainly help, but it wants to do that without all those messy safety regulations and building standards that we in the US have grown so used to and fond of. I'd rather USAmericans have these jobs, but unfortunately that's unrealistic at this time.

Statements like this...
"“We are the most advanced in many fields, and we are willing to share with the United States,” Zheng Jian, the chief planner and director of high-speed rail at China’s railway ministry, said."
...do not fill me with confidence. They've copied and been caught stealing tech before (German company Transrapid, maker of the Shanghai maglev, was a victim) and made cheap (re:garbage quality) imitations of others. I don't think I'd want to cruise at 215mph in something designed by someone who sneakily looked over the shoulder of a visiting REAL mechanical engineer and thought, "Hey, I can do better! Once he leaves, I'll claim I did it all by myself and made it super more advanced! See, it has racing stripes." I really, really want the Chinese government to make an honest effort here but I really, really don't think they're up to it or even want to be.

[Tesha]

15. I'm starting to wonder if some folks' opinions about the capabilities of Chinese engineers...

...and other technical folks might be indicative of some prejudice.
It's either that or ignorance of the actual situation in China.

Tesha

[pscot]

16. Has any American company

approached the state of Califoria or any other state with a similar proposal? Have the feds? We urgently need to start the transition to rail. I hate the idea of giving this kind of opportunity to China but maybe it takes a slap in the face to jolt American business and the American people awake.

[w4rma]

18. China is the lowest bidder? Beware. (nt)