China to complete testing of Winter Olympics high-speed train by mid-2019

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- China will complete the testing of high-speed trains that will run on a new line linking Beijing and Zhangjiakou, co-hosts of the 2022 Winter Olympics, by the first half of next year, an expert familiar with the project said.

A prototype of the trains will be manufactured and assembled by the end of this year, said He Huawu, technical advisor to the general manager of China Railway Corporation and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The Olympic trains will be based on the Fuxing bullet train design, but new technology will make them smarter and greener.

Construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou line is underway and running smoothly, according to China Railway Corporation.

The route is considered historically significant as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway, China's first independently-built railway,opened to traffic in 1909.