China has taken another leap forward in rail technology as the CR450, billed as the world’s fastest electric multiple unit (EMU), begins operational evaluation on the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed rail line, according to multiple media reports. An EMU is a train made of self-propelled, electric-powered carriages that don’t require a separate locomotive.
Developed under the leadership of the China State Railway Group and manufactured by subsidiaries of the state-owned China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the CR450 represents the next generation of China’s high-speed Fuxing trains. The project, launched in 2021, aims to push wheel-on-rail performance to new global records – and the results are already turning heads.
During test runs earlier this year, the prototype CR450 reached 453 km/h, setting a new benchmark for conventional high-speed rail. When two trains passed each other during the same test, their relative speed hit 896 km/h, underscoring China’s continued dominance in high-speed rail innovation.
A new standard for speed and efficiency
The CR450 achieves its remarkable speed through a series of aerodynamic and structural upgrades. Engineers lengthened the train’s nose cone from 12.5 to 15 meters, reducing air drag by 22 percent. The bogies are now fully enclosed, the undercarriage panels extended to conceal the wheels, and the overall height lowered by 20 centimetres. The redesign trims 50 tonnes off the total weight compared with its predecessor, the CR400 Fuxing.
These refinements translate to not only higher speed but also faster acceleration. The CR450 can go from a standstill to 350 km/h in just 4 minutes and 40 seconds, more than 100 seconds quicker than the Fuxing EMUs currently in operation.
According to engineers involved in the project, improvements have been measured in minute increments – as small as 0.1 percent – over five years of research and testing.
Road to commercial service
Before it can carry passengers, the CR450 must complete 600,000 kilometres of successful trial operation. The current testing on the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu line will accumulate data under conditions similar to real-world service. Once the evaluation phase is complete, the train could enter commercial operation as early as 2026.
China Central Television (CCTV) described the recent test run as “the final step for the CR450 to enter the commercial operation phase,” marking what it called “a milestone symbolising the leap from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China.’”
Expanding the world’s largest transport network
The CR450 project is part of China’s broader effort to enhance its already world-leading transport infrastructure. The country has built the largest high-speed rail and expressway networks on the planet, with an integrated transport grid now exceeding 6 million kilometres. More than 80 percent of China’s county-level regions are connected by modern transport corridors, covering over 90 percent of the national economy and population.
During the National Day holiday earlier this month, passenger numbers reflected the system’s scale with 2.4 billion interregional movements recorded, including 213 million railway passengers – an average of 18 million people travelling by train each day.
