#publisher alternate Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers Contribute Subscribe Contribute Search jobs Sign in [ ] My account * Comments & replies * Public profile * Account details * Emails & marketing ______________________________________________________________ * Membership * Contributions * Subscriptions ______________________________________________________________ * Sign out Search [ ] * switch to the International edition * switch to the UK edition * switch to the US edition * switch to the Australia edition current edition: International edition * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle [ ] Show More * (BUTTON) News + World news + UK news + Environment + Science + Cities + Global development + Football + Tech + Business + Obituaries * (BUTTON) Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Cartoons + Opinion videos + Letters * (BUTTON) Sport + Football + Cricket + Rugby union + Tennis + Cycling + F1 + Golf + US sports * (BUTTON) Culture + Books + Music + TV & radio + Art & design + Film + Games + Classical + Stage * (BUTTON) Lifestyle + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Health & fitness + Home & garden + Women + Men + Family + Travel + Money ____________________ What term do you want to search? (BUTTON) Search with google * Make a contribution * Subscribe * (BUTTON) International edition + switch to the UK edition + switch to the US edition + switch to the Australia edition * Search jobs * Dating * Holidays * Digital Archive * Discount Codes * The Guardian app * Video * Podcasts * Pictures * Newsletters * Today's paper * Inside the Guardian * The Observer * Guardian Weekly * Crosswords * Facebook * Twitter * Search jobs * Dating * Holidays * Digital Archive * Discount Codes * World * Europe * US * Americas * Asia * Australia * Middle East * Africa * Inequality * Cities * Global development (BUTTON) More China This article is more than 5 years old Chinese experts 'in discussions' over building high-speed Beijing-US railway This article is more than 5 years old 'China-Russia-Canada-America line' would run for 13,000km across Siberia and pass under Bering Strait through 200km tunnel Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing Thu 8 May 2014 20.00 BST First published on Thu 8 May 2014 20.00 BST * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email A Chinese policeman salutes as a magnetic-levitation train leaves Shanghai. [ ] A magnetic-levitation train leaves Shanghai. The proposed US rail line would take two days, with the train travelling at an average of 350km/h. Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters China is considering plans to build a high-speed railway line to the US, the country's official media reported on Thursday. The proposed line would begin in north-east China and run up through Siberia, pass through a tunnel underneath the Pacific Ocean then cut through Alaska and Canada to reach the continental US, according to a report in the state-run Beijing Times newspaper. Crossing the Bering Strait in between Russia and Alaska would require about 200km (125 miles) of undersea tunnel, the paper said, citing Wang Mengshu, a railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "Right now we're already in discussions. Russia has already been thinking about this for many years," Wang said. The project – nicknamed the "China-Russia-Canada-America" line – would run for 13,000km, about 3,000km further than the Trans-Siberian Railway. The entire trip would take two days, with the train travelling at an average of 350km/h (220mph). The reported plans leave ample room for skepticism. No other Chinese railway experts have come out in support of the proposed project. Whether the government has consulted Russia, the US or Canada is also unclear. The Bering Strait tunnel alone would require an unprecedented feat of engineering – it would be the world's longest undersea tunnel – four times the length of the Channel Tunnel. According to the state-run China Daily, the tunnel technology is "already in place" and will be used to build a high-speed railway between the south-east province of Fujian and Taiwan. "The project will be funded and constructed by China," it said. "The details of this project are yet to be finalised." The Beijing Times listed the China-US line as one of four international high-speed rail projects currently in the works. The first is a line that would run from London via Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Kiev and Moscow, where it would split into two routes, one of which would run to China through Kazakhstan and the other through eastern Siberia. The second line would begin in the far-western Chinese city of Urumqi and then run through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey to Germany. The third would begin in the south-western city of Kunming and end in Singapore. The routes are under various stages of planning and development, the paper said. Wang was not immediately available for comment. A man who picked up the phone at his office said he was traveling and would not respond to interview requests." • This article was amended on Friday 9 May 2014. The project is nicknamed the "China-Russia-Canada-America" line, not the "China-Russia plus America line" as we said first. This has been corrected. Topics * China * Rail transport * Asia Pacific * Engineering * news * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email * Share on LinkedIn * Share on Pinterest * Share on WhatsApp * Share on Messenger * Reuse this content View all comments > (BUTTON) Order by * (BUTTON) newest * (BUTTON) oldest * (BUTTON) recommendations (BUTTON) Show 25 * (BUTTON) 25 * (BUTTON) 50 * (BUTTON) 100 * (BUTTON) All (BUTTON) Threads * (BUTTON) collapsed * (BUTTON) expanded * (BUTTON) unthreaded Loading comments… Trouble loading? (BUTTON) View more comments Most popular * World * Europe * US * Americas * Asia * Australia * Middle East * Africa * Inequality * Cities * Global development * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle IFRAME: /email/form/footer/today-uk + Contact us + Complaints & corrections + SecureDrop + Work for us + Privacy policy + Cookie policy + Terms & conditions + Help + All topics + All writers + Digital newspaper archive + Facebook + Twitter + Advertise with us + Search UK jobs + Dating + Discount Codes Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers Contribute Subscribe Back to top © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (BUTTON) Close [p?c1=2&c2=6035250&cv=2.0&cj=1&comscorekw=China%2CRail+transport%2CWorl d+news%2CAsia+Pacific%2CEngineering%2CTechnology]