China proposes to build world's 2nd longest high-speed rail line in India

A bullet train running on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang high-speed railway, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Nov 24, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China Railway Cooperation (CRC) is carrying out feasibility studies for high-speed lines on the 2,200 km Chennai-New Delhi route, Zhao Guotang, vice-general engineer of the CRC, said on Saturday.

The proposed Chennai-New Delhi corridor could be the second-largest in the world, after the 2,298 km Beijing-Guangzhou line, which was launched three years ago.

China has now the world's biggest high speed railway network which stands at a stunning 19,000 km - longer than all of world's high-speed lines put together.

With successful experience in the domestic market and advanced technologies, the CRC starts to look for more opportunities in the overseas markets, including India, Malaysia, Singapore and so on.

India has tied up with Japan for the country's first high speed railway line which will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad after Tokyo offered easy loan terms to the South Asian country.

China may not offer such easy loan terms but its expertise and technology are compatible with that of India, Zhao said.

While China made 10,000 km of high speed tracks in the past decade, Japan made only 350 km, Zhao said, adding that China is capable of building high speed railways faster and better.