Driverless bullet trains slash travel times between Olympic venues

High-speed rail is expected to facilitate as many as 200,000 trips for participants in the ongoing Olympic Winter Games, offering safe, convenient, comfortable and speedy services for passengers, an official from the China Railway Beijing Group said on Sunday.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are being hosted in three zones-downtown Beijing, its northwest Yanqing district and co-host city Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

Participants, including athletes, coaches, media representatives and officials can take bullet trains traveling between the three zones on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway.

On Friday, many participants used the railway to travel to take part in the opening ceremony.

Wang Yong, deputy head of the China Railway Beijing Group and the regional railway operator, told a news conference in the capital the group had made careful preparations and devised detailed management ahead of the Games.

Due to COVID-19 prevention and control protocols, Games participants are required to stay within a closed loop for the entirety of the Games.

The tailored rail services will be provided to Games participants from Jan 21 to March 16. During the 55-day period, the railway service provider plans to arrange as many as 80 bullet train services a day between the three zones along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway. For off-peak periods, 34 services will be scheduled daily.

The railway, opened on Dec 30, 2019, is China's most advanced smart high-speed railway, with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It is also the world's fastest driverless high-speed railway.

Games participants can get on and off the special trains at four railway stations-Qinghe and Yanqing in Beijing, as well as Taizicheng and Chongli in Zhangjiakou. From Qinghe Railway Station, it takes 26 minutes to reach Yanqing, 50 minutes to reach Taizicheng and 65 minutes to reach Chongli.

Disinfection on the trains has been increased in accordance with the epidemic control protocols, Wang added.

Specially designated trains and compartments will be thoroughly disinfected everyday. In the closed-loop areas in Qinghe, Taizicheng and Yanqing railway stations, disinfection is being carried out every hour.

To better serve the Winter Games, smart facilities have been deployed all along the line, such as online food ordering services and face recognition systems to enter the stations, said Ma Kanyan, president of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Intercity Railway Corp.

The line has adopted many smart technologies, such as disinfection and cleaning robots at railway stations, Ma said.

"A robot can even make coffee for passengers at Taizicheng Railway Station's athletes service center," he said, adding that technology is helping to optimize travel services for the Games.

Beijing 2022 coincides with China's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush from Jan 17 to Feb 25. Besides serving participants in the Games, the railway is also providing services to regular passengers.

Wang from the group said that 96 services along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway have been arranged everyday for regular travelers, heading to destinations such as Datong in Shanxi province and Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.