'More talks needed on China-Turkey high-speed railway'

Further negotiations on issues including geopolitics, technological standards and funding are needed for a high-speed railway China is planning between the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Eastern Europe, according to experts who were interviewed by China Daily.

The 6,000-km link will start in Xinjiang and pass through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey to Bulgaria, said Zhao Xiaogang, former chairman of China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co (CSR), a leading Chinese industrial manufacturer and exporter.

Zhao is also an adviser to the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy.

Passenger train speeds will reach 200 kph and freight trains 160 kph, Zhao told the daily.

Investment in the line will be about $150 billion, Zhao said, adding that it could be largely finished in 2020 and fully completed by 2030.

"It can be regarded as a new Silk Road," he said.

The pace of railway construction in Xinjiang has increased significantly since September, when Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the idea of a Silk Road economic belt. He proposed reviving the ancient trade route connecting China, Central Asia and Europe.

Zhao also said China is considering a 3,000-km line from Yunnan province that would pass through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore.

Total investment would be about $75 billion and the project would boost the GDP of China and related countries by $375 billion. The project could be largely finished in 2020 and fully completed in 2025, he said.

You can read the rest of the story on China Daily.