What means of transportation in China drive on the left?

Stop at the red light, go at the green light, get on the road, and walk on the right? Is a familiar nursery rhyme, and in this nursery rhyme, it also reveals a universal law of traffic in China? That is to drive on the right. But China has a special kind of transportation, driving on the left. This special means of transportation is the train. Seeing this, you may ask, why do China traffic generally drive on the right, while trains are special, so we should choose to drive on the left. The following small series will take you to understand the reasons:

1. The railway design in China was influenced by Britain. As we all know, outside China, vehicles in Britain and other places generally drive on the left. The earliest railway design in China is to imitate and learn from Britain, so the rule that trains drive on the left is naturally accepted by our country. When China has the ability to build railways independently, the national railway framework is basically formed. If you want to forcibly change your habits, you need to dismantle and rebuild, and the money you consume is unimaginable. Considering the difficulty of funds and reconstruction, the tradition of trains driving on the left has been retained.

Second, in order to protect the railway subgrade. Due to the large mass of the train, the influence of the train on the subgrade cannot be underestimated. Driving on the left can make the compression caused by Coriolis force act on the inner side of the track instead of the outer side, thus preventing the train from collapsing the road surface. Therefore, in order to protect the railway subgrade, driving on the left is also an excellent choice.

Third, the railway signal facilities are located on the left. Because most of the signal devices are located on the left side, it is more convenient for drivers to observe signals when driving on the left side, which is helpful for drivers to make predictions in advance during driving.

The reason why China trains drive on the left is not influenced by a single factor, but includes historical factors, pressure factors and driving factors. It is precisely because of the interaction of these factors that the special phenomenon of trains driving on the left is created.