The British firm provides safety, quality, asset management and classification services for sectors like shipping, rail, oil and gas. It chalked up $20 million in revenue in China last year, said John Stansfeld, director of Lloyd's Register's Asia operations.

"We have managed to record double-digit growth in the past few years and we aim to keep the compound annual growth rate of at least 20 percent in our revenue in the next five years," Stansfeld told China Daily.

"We are also planning to increase our workforce in the country by 20 percent a year at the same time," he said.

Lloyd's Register, which is also the world's leading shipping classification firm, currently boasts about 440 employees in China, of which 350 are based on the mainland.

"Rail and marine sectors will be our principle business focus in China," Stansfeld said.

"The railway sector in particular boasts enormous market potential for us," he added.

China is planning to build 7,000 kilometers of dedicated passenger lines, 4,000 kilometers of double-track lines, and upgrade 8,000 kilometers and 15,000 kilometers of existing track to double-track and electrified lines during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) period, with total investment expected to reach 1.25 trillion yuan.

"The shift to the hi-tech railway systems also presents us with a huge potential market," Stansfeld said, referring to China's efforts to modernize its extensive rail networks.

China increased its rail speed on Wednesday, the sixth upgrade since 1997.

"We can leverage our safety, efficiency and other expertise in high-speed rail systems to help China's shift to high-speed rail drive," Stansfeld said.

And China's growing volume of railway equipment exports would also spur Lloyd's Register's business in the country, the director said.

"China is now exporting more and more rail system equipment and we could provide certification and other services to help Chinese manufacturers meet overseas requirements," Stansfeld said.

The booming metro sector, Stansfeld said, is another "business driver" for his firm's expansion in China.

Currently, six cities on the mainland have subway systems and more lines are under construction in other cities.

China is expected to overtake Japan as the company's biggest market in the region in the next two years, Stansfeld said.

The London-based firm has seven offices on the Chinese mainland in Dalian, Beijing, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou.

It plans to open three new offices in the country next year in Tianjin, Xiamen and Jiangyin.

See also:

First high-speed train takes the rail, pulls China into high-speed era

Chinaview: 2007-04-18

SHANGHAI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A train designed to run at speeds up to 250 km per hour left Shanghai for Suzhou early Wednesday morning, ushering in the era of high-speed rail travel in the world's fastest growing economy.

Nationwide, 280 high-speed trains left stations on their first high-speed runs on Wednesday. By the end of the year there will be more than 500 high-speed trains in service.

Train D460 left Shanghai at 5:38 a.m. and arrived in Suzhou 39 minutes later, cutting travel time for the 112 km journey almost in half.

"It felt like we were traveling on an airplane," said 78-year-old Chen Lijuan, a native of Suzhou who lives in Shanghai." In the past it took more than an hour to get here."

Liu Dongwei, the 38-year-old driver of the train, has seen six "speed boosts" on Chinese railways since 1997.

"The speed limit for trains has risen dramatically, from 40 to 50 kilometers per hour to the current 250 kilometers per hour," he said.

When Liu started his career in 1993, he shoveled coal into a steam locomotive.

"My job has become easier as it's more like operating an airplane," Liu said proudly of his train, which is powered by multiple electric engines.

Chinese railway officials said last year that China accounted for a quarter of the world's total railway transport volume, while its total rail lines were only 6 percent of the world's total length.

"The sixth speed lift will boost passenger and cargo capacity by more than 18 percent and 12 percent respectively," said Hu Yadong, vice-minister of railways.

See also:

Bullet trains join fastest in the world

China Daily/Xinhua: 2007-04-18

Brand new homemade high-speed trains CRH are seen at a railway station in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, April 12, 2007. The CRH trains which could run at least 200km per hour, will serve on high speed routes between major cities after the sixth nationwide railway speedup from April 18. [Xinhua]

A train designed to run at a speed of 200 km per hour left east China's Shanghai for Suzhou early Wednesday morning, ushering in a high-speed era for the world's fastest growing economy.

Nationwide, 140 pairs of high-speed trains with a speed of 200 km per hour or a faster speed will begin to hit the railways on Wednesday. The number will increase to 257 by the end of this year.

Numbered D460, the train left Shanghai on 5:38 a.m. and is expected to arrive in Suzhou 39 minutes later.

With today's sixth railway speedup, China will join the ranks of countries with high-speed rail services.

Trains will be able to run at speeds of up to 200 kph on some 6,003 km of track, and on some sections, the maximum speed will increase to 250 kph.

"That length (6,003 km) exceeds the total amount of rail lines capable of accommodating trains at that speed (200 kph) in nine European countries," said Vice-Minister of Railways Hu Yadong.

"And raising the speed to 200 kph on so much track in only one move is also rare in the world."

As of today, trains will be able to run at speeds of up to 160 kph on 14,000 kilometers of track and up to 120 kph on 22,000 km of track.

The need for speed
The first railway speedup happened on April 1, 1997. Besides lifting the average speed to 54.9 kph (it was officially recorded as 48.1 kph in 1993), it also saw the introduction of new express trains with a top speed of 140 kph. Also, to reduce journey times, some long-distance routes began operating overnight services.

The second speedup came on October 1, 1998 and was marked by a new top speed for express trains of 160 kph. The average speed for express trains rose to 71.6 kph, while standard passenger trains also accelerated to an average of 55.2 kph. The country's first luggage trains and nonstop trains to tourist destinations were also introduced.

Speedup number three came into effect on October 21, 2000 and was mostly concerned with the speed of trains traveling on the Lanzhou-Lianyungang and Beijing-Hong Kong routes. The average speed of standard passenger trains rose to 60.3 kph.

The fourth speedup came on October 21, 2001 and involved some 13,000 km of passenger routes covering the majority of the country. It saw the average speed rise to 61.6 kph and also the introduction of additional express trains.

The fifth speedup came into effect on April 18, 2004 and involved some 16,500 km of track. The average speed of passenger trains rose to 65.7 kph, while for express trains on arterial routes the top speed was upped to 200 kph.

The sixth speedup comes into play today. A total of 6,003 km of line will have their top speed increased to 200 kph, while on some sections, express trains will be able to hit 250 kph.

The 6,003 km of track capable of accommodating the fastest speeds will serve both high-speed passenger and heavily loaded cargo trains, which travel at slower speeds.

Railway operators will have to address the speed gap between the two kinds of trains to make sure they both run safely.

He Huawu, the ministry's general engineer, said the ministry had drafted an operational chart to allow trains to run at an interval of "only five minutes".

He added that it was rare for a rail operator to run such a tight schedule.

He also noted that in addition to the speed gap between passenger and cargo trains, the two have "totally opposite requirements for tracks". For example, high-speed passenger trains require a much smoother track than a heavily loaded cargo train, He said.

Other transportation experts have doubted the wisdom of running the two kinds of trains on one rail network.

"A heavily loaded cargo train's destructive power is the same as that of an overloaded vehicle on the expressway," Nanfang Weekly quoted an expert as saying.

However, He said railway authorities had adopted advanced technology to resolve any problems.

The country's rail system has reportedly benefited from several upgrades, including an advanced safety control system that includes 60-kg steel rails as well as the latest sleeper cars, the strongest switches available and anti-friction devices. The signal system has also been upgraded.

The system allows the authorities to maintain tighter control of high-speed trains, Initial experiments and a trial run have both yielded positive results.

He also said the ministry had set up systems for testing and monitoring, facilities management and emergency responses.

And for the first time, the ministry has installed advanced track that relies on laser technology.

"I can say that China's railway infrastructure and rail track technology have both reached an advanced level," He said.