October 31, 2007 (LPAC) -- A source with the German railway consulting branch said yesterday, that it speaks for the Chinese that in spite of all recent provocations by Chancellor Angela Merkel, (receiving the Dalai Lama at the Kanzleramt, and the like), they gave the go-ahead for the German role in the modernization of the Wuhan-Guangzhou route, which is about the same distance as Berlin-Paris.

Although maglev projects are not moving ahead at this moment, railway and subway projects are. For rail track upgrading and new routes, China invests the equivalent of 30 billion euros, annually, plus 6 billion euros for rolling stock. Germany's rail-tech sector could not produce that, even if it wanted to, the source said.

A highly interesting project, the source also said, is the construction of the new modern railway central station in Nanjing, which will be Asia's biggest, with 28 tracks-- even bigger than the new Berlin Central Station. Other projects, already being looked into by German railway experts, include rail links to altogether 140 airports in the inland of China-- this being a crash program to be completed by 2050, according to the latest railway development plan of the Chinese government.

The source also confirmed that German experts are presently looking into the Indian project of a rail freight corridor from New Delhi to Mumbai, a route of more than 1,200 kilometers.