BEIJING: More than 4,000 kilometers of new railway lines were put into operation last year, bringing the total network of China’s railway system to 155,000 km, with 42,000 km being high-speed railways, according to the national railway operator China State Railway Group on Tuesday.
Last year, the sector built more railway infrastructure to stabilize economic growth despite the downward pressure on the economy caused by the epidemic and external challenges.
A total of 4,100 km of new railway lines opened to traffic last year, and 2,082 km were high-speed railways, Liu Zhenfang, president of the company, said at the company’s annual conference in Beijing.
The network plans to build more railways this year. More than 3,000 km of new railway lines are expected to be put into operation this year, and 2,500 km will be high-speed railways, he added.
It is part of the company’s annual goals in 2023 to promote the sector’s high-quality development and contribute to the country’s resurgence following COVID-19.
A total of 2.69 billion passenger trips are expected to be made this year, a significant year-on-year increase of 67.6 percent. Some 3.97 billion metric tons of freight are expected to be handled this year, up 1.8 percent year-on-year, Liu added. The sector aims to receive 817 billion yuan ($118 billion) in total transportation revenue this year, a year-on-year increase of 17.9 percent.
The expected revenue is back to the amount of 2019 — prior to the pandemic — when the sector gained 818 billion yuan as revenue.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
