Galaxy Technology Empire

In early September, the opening of the Taiwan Strait Cross-Sea Bridge and the Taiwan Strait Cross-Sea Bridge Management Company invited fans to test train passenger transportation, which attracted a lot of public attention.

In addition, the Galaxy Consortium announced that it will build another longer cross-sea bridge, starting from Weihai City in Dongtanglu Province in the west to Taian, Zhongqing South Road in Gaoli in the east. The entire cross-sea bridge is 306 kilometers long.

At the same time, the East Island Loop Vacuum Railway has also entered the construction stage. The East Island Loop Vacuum Railway will be connected to the vacuum railway of the Strait Cross-Sea Bridge.

The Pingtan-Shantou-Mei vacuum railway in the mainland has also entered the construction stage.

In fact, the Dongtang Railway Ministry has sent expert teams to the Strait Cross-sea Bridge several times. They are very optimistic about the vacuum railway and are discussing how to upgrade the high-speed railway.

The Ministry of Railways’ plan is to use the original railway lines to lay vacuum railways. Planet Group also strongly agrees with their idea.

After all, if the existing railway cannot be upgraded and reconstructed, then building a new line will be time-consuming, laborious and expensive.

"Chen Suo, Academician Ma!" Liu Weihong, vice president of China Railway Group, was inside Pingtan Station.

"Mr. Liu, long time no see!" Ma Sixing is quite familiar with China Railway.

Chen Wenfeng smiled and nodded to the other party.

Next to them was Su Yue, the general manager of the Strait Cross-Sea Bridge Management Company.

"If the existing railway is used for upgrading, I don't know whether it is technically difficult or not, and how much will it cost?" Liu Weihong asked back to the point.

Ma Sixing thought for a while: "It's not that difficult. You can use foam cement to quickly lay the vacuum pipeline on the original foundation."

"As for the cost issue, one kilometer of the Strait Cross-sea Bridge costs RMB 870 million. If it is laid on the original basis and is laid on land, the cost will be about RMB 150 million per kilometer." Chen Wenfeng added.

"150 million per kilometer?" Liu Weihong calculated.

At present, the total length of domestic railways is about 126,000 kilometers. If all vacuum railways are renovated, it will cost at least 18 trillion yuan. Obviously, this transformation cost is unaffordable.

"Mr. Liu is thinking about the cost, right?" Chen Wenfeng asked.

"Exactly, if all railways across the country are upgraded, obviously we cannot afford the cost." Liu Weihong said helplessly.

"Actually, judging from the current cost of vacuum railway construction, the price is still a bit high. But if you really want to build a vacuum railway, I suggest you start with the main line and then proceed step by step. After all, as time goes by, the cost of vacuum railway construction will increase. It will gradually decrease." Chen Wenfeng suggested.

Regarding Chen Wenfeng's proposal, Liu Weihong nodded and said: "This is indeed a pragmatic plan. We need to eat one bite at a time, and we cannot become fat after one bite."

"There is no problem in building a main line vacuum railway, but how to coordinate the vacuum railway and ordinary railway?" Ma Sixing reminded.

The coordination problem he mentioned is not only that when the vacuum railway is built, it will make the railway impassable; another big problem is how to let the trains communicate with the two systems after it is completed. After all, the ordinary railway system and the vacuum railway system are different.

"This is indeed a trouble. We need to upgrade and reconstruct the trunk line, but the trunk line is a very important transportation line. Once the laying and reconstruction begins, it cannot be used." Liu Weihong said with a headache.

"There are not many methods. My idea is to lay it out quickly, in sections, and open it to traffic as soon as it is completed." After Chen Wenfeng finished speaking, fearing that they would not understand, he turned on the holographic bracelet and made a draft for them to see.

Chen Wenfeng's plan is to use prefabricated parts to make all the parts in advance in the factory. Using 100 kilometers as a section, he strives to complete the laying of 100 kilometers of vacuum railway within a week, and then quickly open it to traffic. .

In addition, they can avoid peak holiday periods and choose some off-seasons for construction.

It is true that during this year's holiday peak period, railway transportation was not as crowded as in previous years. This was mainly due to the sudden rise of airship transportation, which diverted part of the passenger flow.

Especially in areas such as the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and remote mountainous areas, airships have become a mainstream transportation method.

After all, airships do not need to build roads or railways, nor do they need specialized airports. Although the speed is generally 120 kilometers per hour, which does not seem to be as fast as high-speed rail and airplanes, don't forget that airships travel in a straight line, so they do not lose to high-speed rail.

As for the speed of airplanes, there are many airships. The problem is that the transportation volume is not as good as that of airships. Spring Airlines, one of the top two passenger airships at present, has launched the cheapest airship ticket for 100+ kilometers.

For this so-called 100+ kilometers, the starting price is 100 Chinese yuan. There is no additional charge within 50 kilometers. After 50 kilometers, the price is 1 Chinese yuan for every 10 kilometers.

For example, the straight-line distance from Yangcheng to Shanghai is 1,190 kilometers. The airship fare is 100+114=214 Chinese yuan. If you buy a plane ticket, it is usually more than 600 Chinese yuan.

In addition, Spring Airlines' low-cost flights can transport 1,500 people at one time. For those who are relatively short of money, this price is very considerate.

So now airship transportation has taken away a lot of passenger traffic from airplanes and railways.

After reading Chen Wenfeng's explanation, Liu Weihong also felt that this was a better solution. However, he was a little skeptical about the speed of laying 100 kilometers of vacuum railway in one week:

"Is it too early to lay 100 kilometers of vacuum railway in one week? If there are quality problems, it will be troublesome."

"Don't worry, Mr. Liu! I can guarantee that there will be no problem in this regard. We are constructing at sea and can lay 20 to 30 kilometers of single line in a week. On land, the speed will only be faster." Chen Wenfeng assured.

"I also think that this speed can be achieved if we prepare in advance, such as the treatment of the roadbed, the laying of the power supply system, and the setting up of the vacuum station. These can all be prepared in advance." Ma Sixing agreed.

"Then we will start from the line from Shanmei to Pupingtan and use this line as a pilot. If there are no problems, we will prepare to upgrade other trunk lines." Liu Weihong decided.

Next, the group took the HX-KY003 train from Pingtan Station to Hsinchu Station across the sea.

Although this is a test train, both services and internal configuration are in accordance with normal operations.

Liu Weihong raised his head, and there was a holographic projection display above.

[Pingtan Station (starting station) - Hsinchu Station (terminal station)]

[Time: 2019.09.13/14:24]

[Speed: 1214 km/h]

…

"I don't even feel acceleration or vibration at this speed. Your technology is very mature." Liu Weihong sighed.

"This is almost the most cost-effective speed. It is true that we can make it faster, but the gain outweighs the loss." Chen Wenfeng explained with a smile.

"What Chen said is correct. Once the speed is too fast, not only acceleration is a problem, but also starting to accelerate and decelerating while standing are also very troublesome." Ma Sixing also said helplessly.

"This speed is already very impressive. As for the faster vacuum railway, it is estimated that it can only be applied to intercontinental railways." Liu Weihong is very satisfied that it can be achieved to this extent.

While the few people were talking, the train had slowly stopped in the arrival area of ​​Hsinchu Station.