China will conduct a trail run of its first hybrid train next month as the Chinese Government continues to modernize the nation's railway system.

Officials of the CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co, a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, said that the tests are scheduled to begin at the China Academy of Railway Science in June after the train completes its technical debugging phase this month, reported the China Daily.

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The train will be equipped with two and three power sources, which features an integrated internal combustion power diesel generator package and a power battery pack that is designed to cut down on carbon emissions and diesel costs.

An Zhongyi, CRRC Changchun's general manager, explained that China's move to develop hybrid train will provide the country an edge as it shifts from electrified railway networks to fully non-electrified systems.

The Chinese Government's efforts to modernize its railway system from is in response to surging demand from many countries such as the United States, Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran for improved equipment, infrastructure facilities, passenger services and regional connectivity.

China's new train will be capable of travelling at speeds between 120 and 160 kilometers per hour, and is best-suited to run on lines of under 100 km in length, or on journeys of less than an hour.

"The design team has already tackled technical issues such as weight control, noise and vibration," explained Li Xuefei, the project's chief engineer at CRRC Changchun.

According to Li, China's hybrid train gets its power from two main sources: a pantograph system, a device mounted on the roof which gathers power through an overhead wire, and an internal combustion power pack or a power battery pack, which will enable the train to run if the power grid is unavailable.

Based on the country's long-term railway development plan, the Central Government will speed up the expansion of its high-speed railway network, build more inter-city and city-suburb links, and establish complete a freight railway network across the country.

China's hybrid trains are envisioned to serve as a trunk railway line between cities, with the goal of addressing the increasing volume of passenger traffic within the nation's fast-growing urbanized areas.

Tagschina, Hybrid Train, Railway System Modernization, Chinese government