Beijing High Speed Rail Costs Kept Secret

Beijing 2022 officials refuse to release any costs associated with the construction of a new high-speed railway linking the Chinese capital to Zhangjiakou.

Zhangjiakou is the snow sports cluster situated nearly 200 kilometers northwest of the Chinese capital. Freestyle skiing, snowboarding and Nordic events, in addition to a third Olympic village and a Mountain Media Center will be located there.

The rail line is nearly five times longer than the $8 billion rail link built to connect mountain and coastal venues for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, now notorious for a reported $51 billion in total building costs.

Beijing 2022 says the world-class high-speed rail link is part of the Chinese National Rail Development project and independent from the bid, so a cost cannot be provided.

"Whether we win the bid or not, this Beijing – Zhangjiakou has been incorporated in the national development plan and construction has started," said Shi Weiliang, Beijing 2022 director of planning and technology.

"It is irrelevant to the bid, it is not for the bid that we build this high speed railway," he said.

The train is expected to reach speeds of 250-kilometers per hour and will reduce travel time between Beijing and Zhangjiakou to 50 minutes. The current journey by car or bus can take three hours.

Despite his comments, Shi nontheless has also mentioned the importance of the bid in the development of the infrastructure project, which also includes building two new expressways linking the two cities.

"The bid for the Winter Games will promote the utilization and long-time development for the infrastructure," Weiliang said.

"With this high speed rail, we can provide convenient transportation for the Olympic family, spectators and media."

During the Games, media, IOC members, and credentialed officials will ride the train at no cost. A media carriage will offer work desks, power supply and hi-speed WIFI.

Despte China’s national campaign to rapidly develop winter sports and recreational skiing, particularly in Zhangjiakou and Yanquing, there has been speculation has been that the railway would not be on the drawing board had it not been for the bid.

According to Zhang Chunsheng, executive director of Zhangjiakou operations, should Beijing win the 2022 Winter Games, trains would depart the city center every five minutes during peak times and every 15 minutes during non-peak hours.

"It will be the most advancedrailway technology that we will have," Zhang said.

Sixteen cars will carry 1,500 passengers per train. Space or lockers for skis and equipment could also be incorporated into the interior design.

Zhang also would not provide an estimated cost.

This is just part of the section of the broader national line so it is not just built for the purpose of the Olympic Games," he said.

Asked whether there is concern about not knowing costs of the massive project, Zhang explained "the whole project is operated by a rich number of people – the government and the government with the bid committee."

Adding to the cost of the expansive project, a tunnel is also in the plans to be built in Zhangjiakou.

One of the three visions of the Beijing 2022 bid is hosting an economical Games.

The newline is expected to be completed by 2019, in time for the World Horticulture Festival in Yanqing.

IOC and Beijing 2022 Continue Discussions

The Beijing 2022 Bid Committee held the final day of presentations to the IOC Evaluation Commission members on Friday, ahead of the wrap-up meetings on Saturday. Beijing officials and experts briefed the IOC EC members on the remaining themes of legal matters; safety, security and medical services, government and public support, finance and marketing.

The 2022 Paralympics were also on Friday’s agenda.

The IOC commission members visited proposed venue sites in the three Games zones on previous days and will share their impressions of the visit at a closing news conference March 28.

Ice Hockey Exhibition Cancelled

A youth ice hockey game that was to be attended by members of the international media visiting Beijing had to be cancelled on Friday evening.

Problem with an ice surfacing machine is cited as the reason.

Despite claims of burgeoning interest in winter sport in China, three ski resort employees on a slope two days ago have been the only evidence of that seen by the foreign media delegation this week.

Requests by the media to visit to the site of alpine events in Yanqing on Friday could not be fulfilled. Organizers said the established schedule could not be changed. Instead the group was taken to a winery for lunch on the journey back to Beijing.

Written by Brian Pinelli in Beijing.

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