(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-09 10:40

China's railway departments need to boost innovation efforts to expand the nation's rail transportation capacity, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said on Saturday.

"We should crank up innovation efforts to master the designs and construction technologies of the high speed railways and cargo arteries," Zeng said while visiting a railway technology exhibition in Beijing.

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"We should strive to reach the target of self designing and mass producing bullet trains that run at 200 kilometers per hour or higher as well as the high horse power locomotives that are as good as their foreign counterparts."

Zeng also urged the railway authorities to more vigorously cut energy consumption and pollution and provide better and safer services.

The country has made a huge progress in the railway sector over the past three decades, the vice premier said.

"The operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and renovation of existing rails have initially alleviated the nation's rail transportation bottleneck," he added.