BEIJING – China will test run country’s first hybrid-power train next month, project officials have said, the country’s official media reported on Friday. The train will complete its technical debugging phase by the end of this month in Jilin province and tests are scheduled to start at the China Academy of Railway Sciences in June, which will take six months to ensure product quality, safety and efficiency. Hybrid-power trains can be used on commuter lines between various cities, trunk railways and railway lines for passenger traffic along with fast-growing pace of urbanisation. The new train will run at between 120 and 160 kilometres per hour, and is best-suited to be operated on lines under 100 km in length, or on rail journeys of less than an hour. The new model will have between two and three power sources, including integrated internal combustion power of diesel generator package and a power battery pack to cut carbon emissions and diesel costs. An official said the train will give the country an edge in shifting from operating electrified railway networks to fully non-electrified ones, a move that favours the development of hybrid-powered trains. China’s railway trade opportunities come from surging demand in many countries such as the United States, Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran for improved equipment, infrastructure facilities, passenger services and regional connectivity, with efficiency and green credentials a priority.