China tests high-speed snow train

 

A high-speed railway that can run at nearly 220mph in temperatures of -40C has begun a trial operation in China, ahead of a launch at the end of the year.

Believed to be the only train in the world capable of such speeds in frozen conditions, it will run on a new line that links Dalian, a port city on China's North East coast, to Harbin, which is blanketed by snow for much of the winter.

The new trains will cut the journey time on the 570-mile line from nine hours to just three-and-a-half.