While the US has yet to build its first high-speed railroad, China’s moving full speed ahead and a new line in Europe is graced with solar panels.
China launched a fancy new Beijing-to-Shanghai express line yesterday to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Communist Party rule.
Officials say the 820 mile route was completed in 39 months, and plans call for expansion to nearly 28,000 miles by 2015.
The train has a top speed of 220 miles per hour and cuts travel time for the route to under five hours.
Business Class tickets are priced at the equivalent of $270, and feature reclining airline-style seats and a strict no-smoking policy.
Meanwhile in Europe…
A high-speed railroad that runs from Paris to Antwerp will be partially powered by two miles of solar panels.
16,000 solar panels have been installed on a tunnel that was built to protect the rail from falling trees.
The line passes through an ancient forest near Antwerp, and rather than cut hundreds of old trees to create a buffer, developers decided to build a protective tunnel.
Belgian renewable energy company Enfinity installed the panels.
"For train operators, it is the perfect way to cut their carbon footprints because you can use spaces that have no other economic value and the projects can be delivered within a year because they don’t attract the protests that wind power does," Bart Van Renterghem, UK head of Enfinity, told the Guardian.
Loading...