FASTER THAN THE LIMITEDS. Destination: Freedom notes China Rail's purchase of latter-day trolley sleepers.

The world’s first EMU sleeper cars are included in a $1.5 billion order for 40, 16-car EMU trains (640 cars) that the Chinese Ministry of Railways has awarded to the joint venture of Bombardier Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd. (BSP).

The joint venture members are: Bombardier Transportation, whose share of the contract is valued at $596 million; Power Corp. of Canada; and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp. It’s the largest single order for rail passenger cars ever placed at one time in China.

Twenty of the trains will be designed for 155-mph-overnight sleeper service.

There might be some quibbles from friends of the Interstate Public Service and Illinois Terminal about that "first EMU sleeping cars" although the absence of controllers is probably dispositive of any such quibble. The Chinese, however, are in a position to go the Chicago-New York Electric Air Line (scroll down to Faster than the Limiteds entry) a few times better by actually building and running the service. Well done, China Rail.