The world’s first carbon fiber passenger train ready to roll (quietly) into a Chinese city

It has completed factory testing and is ready to enter service in the coastal city later this year, according to its developer Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Co, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation.

The train’s main load-bearing structures – including the wagon body and bogie frame – are built with carbon fiber composite materials, the company said. This makes its body and chassis 25 percent and 50 percent lighter, respectively, than those of a conventional train.

Overall, it is 11 percent lighter than a traditional train, and the company said energy consumption would be reduced by 7 percent. This would mean a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of around 130 tonnes per year, the equivalent of planting more than 40 hectares (100 acres) of trees.

“In the field of rail transportation, a key technology is to reduce vehicle body weight and energy consumption while ensuring vehicle performance toward a greener, low-carbon future,” Qingdao said Sifang on WeChat.

Cetrovo trains are designed with a top speed of 140 km (87 miles) per hour – far faster than the current average speed of 80 km per hour, state tabloid Global Times reported in 2019, when a trial was made in Qingdao.

The fully automated, driverless train can maneuver on curved or steep tracks and can operate in harsh environments such as high temperatures and altitudes.

Traditional subway trains are made of steel, aluminum alloy and other metal materials, and reducing their weight is a major challenge.

Carbon fiber could be the answer. The lightweight yet ultra-strong material is made of thin strands of carbon atoms tightly woven together. It is five times stronger than steel but weighs less than a quarter as much, making it ideal for use in planes, sports equipment – ​​and now trains.

The company said the reduced weight would mean significantly less wear on the wheels and tracks, making maintenance less expensive, and the journey would also be quieter for passengers.

He said the train was equipped with an intelligent anti-collision early warning system and an obstacle detection system, which could automatically send alerts and stop the train in an emergency.

The price of carbon fiber has steadily fallen in recent decades and it has gone from a luxury material used primarily in aerospace to one more commonly used in products such as cars and bicycles .

In the 1980s, the price was around $200 per pound (454 grams), and by the late 2000s it had fallen to between $30 and $50 per pound. Today, prices for industrial-grade carbon fiber range from $7 to $15 per pound.

But carbon fiber remains relatively expensive compared to traditional materials like steel or aluminum, largely because of its complex manufacturing process and the cost of raw materials.

China Railway Construction Corporation is the world’s largest rolling stock manufacturer. It won its first contract in the United States in 2014 for the supply of subway trains to Boston. Founded in 1900 during the German occupation, Qingdao Sifang is one of the oldest rolling stock manufacturers in China.