China successfully tests unmanned 10,000-tonne-level heavy haul train

An unmanned 10,000-tonne-level heavy haul train completed its first trial run on Thursday in China, marking a breakthrough from automatic driving to unmanned driving on heavy-haul railway.

At 8:36 local time, the test train departed from Huanghua South Station in north China's Hebei Province on the Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway, one of the major heavy-haul railways for China's west-to-east coal transportation program, and arrived at Dongying West Station in east China's Shandong Province following two and a half hours of smooth operation.

The train consists of 108 carriages, with a total length of about 1,300 meters and a total load of 10,800 tonnes.

China has achieved independent control from key technologies to management and control modes.

"The trial operation of this unmanned heavy haul train has achieved the system-wide upgrade including automatic driving, intelligent operation and maintenance, and dispatching and centralized control. Through the remote-control console, the train's operating status can be monitored in real time and intelligently, realizing total factor control of the train's movement, static state, and change," said Zhou Zhansong, director of heavy haul train traction technology laboratory of Shuohuang Railway Development Co., Ltd. under China Energy.

During the test, there are three technologies filling in the domestic gaps in related fields, realizing unmanned train driving and station control.

After the mass application of the unmanned driving technology, it is expected that the average running speed of trains will rise by 1.7 km per hour and the average traction energy consumption will decrease by 2.9 percent, which will greatly improve the efficiency of west-to-east coal transportation in China.

The Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway, linking the coal base of Shanxi Province and the Huanghua Port in Hebei Province, is China's second-largest channel for coal transport.

China successfully tests unmanned 10,000-tonne-level heavy haul train

China's alcohol market is becoming increasingly appealing to foreign brands due to its diversified consumer base, rich spirits culture and complete digital ecosystem.

The Macallan, a renowned Scotch whisky brand under leading global spirits company Edrington Group, is focusing on strengthening its presence in China and leveraging its experience in the country to expand globally.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Francois Saurel, Regional Managing Director of Edrington for the Asia Pacific, shared his views on the Chinese market and factors that influence their strategies.

"China is very important for us, it has always been, and it's even more and more year after year. The immense opportunity of the market, the passion that the Chinese consumers, the Chinese clientele is showing for whisky, looks unstoppable," said Saurel.

The lion's share of China's liquor consumption is occupied by its traditional distilled spirit -- baijiu. For The Macallan, this apparent challenge is an opportunity in disguise.

"Actually, we don't see that as a competition at all. To the contrary, we see that as a very positive foundation for the future development of our brand, because if baijiu is so important in China, it's because spirits play a pivotal role in Chinese culture. It's about this kind of mediation, helping the conversation, the deepened conversation, the friendship, the social gathering of the Chinese clientele," he said.

Meanwhile, China's advanced digital ecosystem has also helped the brand grow, he stressed.

"Digital ecosystem is something very important. China is really where the digital is at the level of sophistication, which is on top in the rest of the world, unmatched in the rest of the world. And here we have advanced our capabilities in terms of platform, but also in term of resources, to make the most of that opportunity to engage with the Chinese clientele," Saurel said.

Scotch whisky brand sees opportunity in China's spirited liquor culture