China has reinforced its commitment to advanced rail maintenance by ordering a new HSG‑2 (High Speed Grinding) train from Vossloh, further strengthening the German manufacturer’s long-standing partnership with the world’s largest high‑speed rail network. The new train will be built in Hamburg and is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2027.
For over a decade, Vossloh’s high‑speed grinding technology has become a cornerstone of China’s preventive rail maintenance strategy. Today, 12 of the country’s 18 regional railway administrations deploy the technology on high‑density routes, helping maintain some of the most heavily used rail corridors on the planet. In 2025 alone, the HSG fleet treated around 42,000 kilometres of track—including critical lines such as the flagship Beijing–Shanghai corridor.
China’s high-speed rail system already spans approximately 50,000 kilometres, with government plans to expand this to over 70,000 kilometres by 2035. This growth is tightly coupled with a long-term preventive maintenance regime designed to maximise safety, reliability, and network availability.
Vossloh’s CEO, Oliver Schuster, highlighted the significance of the latest order:
“China demonstrates how effective preventive maintenance is in high-speed rail. The agreed delivery for capacity expansion confirms the great confidence in our technology.”
With the new HSG‑2 headed to China in 2027, Vossloh further cements its influence in an international market increasingly focused on cost‑efficient, reliability‑centred maintenance. For UK rail leaders, it underscores a key trend: high‑speed networks around the world are prioritising continuous, data‑driven, non‑disruptive track maintenance to support long-term performance.
Image credit: Vossloh
