Hexie (train)

History

In 2007, China’s Ministry of Railways laid out a plan for a future high-speed network. Four foreign companies—Bombardier Transportation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Alstom, and later Siemens—joined what became the Harmony project. They formed joint ventures with Chinese firms CNR and CSR, signing deals to build high-speed trains for China and to help Chinese companies eventually produce the trains locally. The first train sets in each Hexie series were built abroad, but later ones were made in China through technology transfer, which was a key condition for the country.

Domestic development handled signalling, tracks, support structures, control software, and station designs, though some foreign elements remained. Early domestically built trains arrived as complete knock-down kits, but over time, manufacturing became mostly Chinese. China now holds many patents for the trains’ internal components, which were redesigned to reach higher speeds than the original foreign designs allowed. However, these patents are only valid inside China, giving them no international protection.

This intellectual property limitation made it hard for China to export Hexie-related products, prompting the creation of a completely new train brand, Fuxing, built on fully indigenous technology. Most Hexie trains serve China Railway, but one variant, the CRH380A, was adapted for Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation. That operator runs it under the name Vibrant Express on the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

Variants

The Harmony brand covers a family of electric multiple unit trainsets, with designs originally sourced from other countries and labeled CRH-1 through CRH-5, plus the CRH380A(L), CRH380B(L), and CRH380C(L) models. These trains are built to offer fast and convenient travel between cities. Many trainsets are produced locally through technology transfer, which was a key condition for China.

The signaling, track, support structures, control software, and station designs are mostly developed domestically, though they include some foreign elements, making the overall system predominantly Chinese. China now holds many new patents for the internal components of these trains, which were redesigned in China to allow higher operating speeds than the original foreign designs permitted. However, these patents are only valid within China and have no international authority.

The specific trainsets are as follows. CRH1 is built by Bombardier Transportation's joint venture Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation (BST). The CRH1A and CRH1B, nicknamed "Metro" or "Bread," come from Bombardier's Regina design. The CRH1E, called "Lizard," is based on Bombardier's ZEFIRO 250 design.

The CRH1A consists of eight cars and runs at a maximum speed of 250 km/h. The CRH1B is a modified sixteen-car version, also with a top speed of 250 km/h.

The CRH1E is a sixteen-car high-speed sleeper train, also reaching 250 km/h. CRH2, nicknamed "Hairtail," is derived from the E2 Series 1000 Shinkansen. The CRH2A was unveiled in 2006 as a modified version of the Japanese Shinkansen E2-1000 series; an order for sixty eight-car sets was placed in 2004, with the first few built in Japan and the rest by Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock in China.

The CRH2B is a modified sixteen-car version of the CRH2, with a top speed of 250 km/h. The CRH2C (stage one) is a modified CRH2 that reaches 300 km/h by replacing two intermediate trailer cars with motored cars. The CRH2C (stage two) is a further modification of stage one, using more powerful motors to reach 350 km/h.

The CRH2E is a modified sixteen-car version of the CRH2 with sleeping cars. CRH3, nicknamed "Rabbit," comes from the Siemens ICE3 (class 403) design and consists of eight-car sets with a maximum speed of 350 km/h. CRH5A is derived from the Alstom Pendolino ETR600, with eight-car sets and a top speed of 250 km/h.