China Railway CRH2

Variants

The Ministry of Railway in China ordered 60 sets of CRH2A trains from Kawasaki Heavy Industries on October 20, 2004, as part of the first batch of CRH trains alongside Bombardier's CRH1A and Alstom's CRH5A. Each CRH2A set comprises 8 cars; the first 3 sets were built in Japan, the next 6 delivered in complete knock down form and assembled by CSR Sifang, and the remaining 51 built by Sifang through technology transfer. The first train arrived at Qingdao port on March 8, 2006, and these trains began high-speed service on April 18, 2007.

Test trials occurred on the Shanghai-Hangzhou and Shanghai-Nanjing lines starting January 28, 2007. An additional 40 sets were ordered from CSR Sifang on September 14, 2010, and further sets were introduced from 2012 to 2017. Following a derailment in Guizhou in 2022, CRH2A-4020 was converted into China's first dedicated high-speed freight train, with two derailed carriages scrapped and new windowless carriages rebuilt; the modified train was revealed in March 2024 and entered testing the following month.

In November 2007, 10 CRH2B sets with 16 cars each were ordered, featuring three first-class cars, twelve second-class cars, and one dining car, with a designed maximum speed of 250 km/h and power of 9600 kW. These sets had "Phoenix eyes" headlights not present on the CRH2A. The first CRH2B units were delivered on June 29, 2008, and entered service on the Hefei–Nanjing Passenger Railway on August 1, 2008. Sifang later built its own CRH2 with a maximum safe operating speed of 300 km/h, while the original imported sets had a maximum safe operating speed of 250 km/h.

Formation

By the time of the sixth national railway speed-up, at least 37 CRH2A sets had been delivered. All 60 CRH2A sets were delivered by 2008. Post-2008 production models are designed and made solely by Sifang with a maximum safe operation speed of 350 km/h.

Power designations include M for motor car, T for trailer car, C for driver cabin, and P for pantograph. Coach types include ZY for first class, ZE for second class, CA for dining car, ZEC for second class/buffet car, WR for soft sleeper, and WRC for soft sleeper/dining coach. Various set numbers are assigned to different configurations, such as sets 2006, 2011, and 2021; sets 2015, 2027, and 2030; set 2042; set 2043; sets 2044–2060; sets 2151–2211 where coach No. 3 has 16 first class and 43 second class seats; and many others including sets 2212–2416, 2427–2460, 2473–2499, 2828, 4001–4071, 4082–4095, and 4114–4131.

Accidents

On July 23, 2011, two bullet trains traveling in the same direction collided after the leading train, CRH 1-046B, stopped due to a faulty signal hit by lightning. The second train, CRH 2-139E, received a green signal that malfunctioned from a lightning strike. The CRH2's front cars fell off a viaduct, with cars 1-3 on the ground and car 4 standing at a 90° angle. On June 6, 2022, D2809, operated by CRH2A-4020, was hit by a mudslide outside Rongjiang Railway Station in Guizhou, derailing and killing the driver; all passengers survived.