China rail minister removed from post
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefA corruption investigation has led to the removal of Chinese Railway Minister Liu Zhijun (pictured) from his post, and a New York Times dispatch from Beijing says the probe “raises questions about China’s deep investment inhigh speed railways.”
The charge against Liu is “severe violations of discipline,” without further elaboration.
A passionate promoter of high speed, Liu not only launched projects costing more than $100 billion but has offered to finance and build systems elsewhere, including in California. Coming from behind in a race long led by the likes Alstom, Siemens, and Kawasaki, China now operates the world’s fastest steel-on-steel train: It travels the 644 miles between Guam Zhou and Wuhan in just over three hours.
The Ministry two years ago promised a fleet of high speed trains by 2012 covering 5,000 miles of track on 42 lines at 215 mph, plus 155 mph trains on a 3,000-mile system.
