China debuts high-speed train for extreme cold

China on Wednesday debuted in Beijing a high-speed Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) that can operate under temperatures as low as -40 C.

The EMU, named Fuxing, has a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It is expected to run on the high-speed railway between Beijing and Harbin, capital of China's northernmost province Heilongjiang, according to Zhou Song, with China Railway Beijing Group Co Ltd.

Designers of the train used a layer of micron-level ceramic porous material on the cabinet. It can store condensed water in the pores. As the passenger room temperature rises, the condensation evaporates.

The developers also used a new, unique switch control to work in extreme cold.

By the end of last year, 1,036 Fuxing EMUs had run a total of 836 million km and carried 827 million passengers.