China will transfer high-speed railway tech to Thailand, engineers say
- Agreement in principle to pass on technology, skills and knowledge in 11 areas of railway construction, according to Chinese team
- They are involved in negotiations on a line being built from Kunming to Bangkok and say Thailand wants ‘greater role in future cooperation’
“As cooperation on the China-Thailand High-Speed Railway project deepens, Thailand’s desire to design and construct high-speed railways on its own has gradually become stronger. They hope to play a greater role in future cooperation,” the team led by Gao Rui wrote in Chinese journal Railway Standard Design last month.
“In response to Thailand’s repeated requests for technology transfer and teaching on China’s high-speed rail technology at joint committee meetings, China has agreed to pass on the technology to Thailand under the premise of not violating Chinese laws,” said Gao, a senior engineer with state-owned China Railway International Group and a member of its overseas engineering management and technical negotiations team.
Under Chinese law, companies and individuals must obtain government approval to export technologies that are deemed critical to national security or the country’s economic interests.
China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, which was built in just 15 years. The network spans more than 40,000km (about 24,800 miles) – or long enough to circle the Earth. The country’s engineering experience, knowledge and technology could be useful to others wanting to build similar infrastructure rapidly and at a relatively low cost.
For example, China has developed modular designs for railway stations and other infrastructure components that can be quickly assembled on site. New materials for railway tracks that can help reduce maintenance costs over the long term – such as high-strength steel and concrete ties – have also been developed.