China to provide earthquake monitoring services to high-speed rails

China will officially provide services for the quick reporting of earthquake seismic intensity and provide early warning information to high-speed rail networks nationwide by 2021, according to the China Earthquake Administration (CEA).

The services will benefit information integration and sharing between China's high-speed rails and earthquake information system, increasing the country's early earthquake warning information service capabilities, Yin Chaomin, deputy head of the CEA said.

The plan will also strengthen the safety of China's vast high-speed rails as they will extend to over 30,000 kilometre by 2020, covering more than 80 per cent of large and medium-sized cities,Yin was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency on Sunday.

Yin said the CEA will continue to deepen research on early earthquake warning technologies and increase accuracy and reliability.

The early warning system will help people take emergency measures to escape and inform large projects such as reservoirs, high-speed railways and nuclear power stations to launch emergency response plans.

China currently has the world's longest high-speed rail network, with 22,000 kilometres within the country linking various key cities.