Shanghai Maglev 2004. Shanghai Metro 1996 [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

However, rapid economic growth was putting considerable strain on the railway network right through to the mid 2000s. The system was based on conventional track, meaning freight, the green trains and a limited number of faster services all ran on the same rails. Incredibly it worked but capacity was reaching a maximum. Introducing the latest trains operating with advanced computer technology on dedicated tracks where no freight services would compete for space was, for China, a uniquely new approach. This has resulted today in the world’s most extensive high-speed network and has radically changed the concept of rail travel offering levels of comfort unheard of even a few years previously.