China has built the world’s first passenger train made from carbon fibre, a material that makes it much lighter and more energy-efficient than conventional trains.
The metro train – known as Cetrovo 1.0 or the Carbon Star Rapid Transit – was unveiled in Qingdao, in the eastern province of Shandong, on Wednesday.
It has completed in-factory testing and is ready to go into operation 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 car body and bogie frame – are built with carbon fibre composite materials, the company said. That makes its body and frame 25 per cent and 50 per cent lighter, respectively, than those of a conventional train.
Overall, it is 11 per cent lighter than a traditional train, and the company said energy consumption would be reduced by 7 per cent. That would mean a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about 130 tonnes a year – equivalent to planting more than 40 hectares (100 acres) of trees.
“In the field of rail transit, a key technology is to reduce the vehicle’s body weight and its energy consumption while ensuring vehicle performance towards a greener, low-carbon future,” Qingdao Sifang said on WeChat.