At the end of the year, China had a railway network of 162,000 kilometresincluding 48,000 km dedicated to high-speed rail. This represents a world record. The figures for passenger numbers are impressive. Chinese rail transported 4.08 billion passengers last year. With daily peaks reaching 21.45 million passengers. Freight transport also broke records, reaching 3.99 billion tonnes.
China caresses the ambitious goal to have, by 2030, the necessarya modern network of 180,000 kilometres, a third of which (60,000 km) will be made up of of high-speed lines. This expansion aims to create a more efficient and interconnected transport system, linking major cities in one to three hours.
Trains travelling at over 400 km/h
To further improve rail performance, at the end of last year China presented its future high-speed trains. Baptized CR450, they will travel at a maximum test speed of 450 km/h and a planned operational speed of 400 km/h. These new trains will be the fastest in the world, beating the current CR400 limited to 350 km/h.
The CR450s have a weight reduction of 10 %, improving their fuel efficiency. A new cabin awaits passengers, with a host of technological innovations for a more upmarket experience.
In business class, the seats can be configured as "meetings".In economy class, ergonomic curved seats offer greater comfort. In economy class, ergonomic seats with curved shapes will offer greater comfort. New shelves will allow passengers to put their phones down to watch videos. All this is complemented by lighting that is better adapted to the time of day, more spacious baggage compartments, and optimised cabin space with a saving of 4 %. The racks are now adjustable and designed to accommodate bulky items such as bicycles, wheelchairs and other equipment.
New rail routes from 1 July
Some lines will see the new CR450s go into service this yearbut at a maximum speed of 350 km/h. They will run at 400 km/h from 2027. In the meantime, China Railway (CR) has unveiled its new timetable from 1 July.
The company promises more high-speed train lines with service limited to just a few stations - to speed up journeys even further. The Hangzhou - Changsha of the high-speed line Shanghai - Kunming will see 46 trains of this type running every day. On the Beijing - Shenyang of the high-speed line Beijing - Harbin24 additional express trains will be added. This will cut journey times by 15 minutes.
CR will also be introducing night trains with sleeping cars on five routes. These are Beijing - Chengdu, Beijing - Guiyang, Shanghai - Chengdu, Shanghai - Yibin and Taiyuan - Shenzhen.
Finally, a number of new high-speed lines were inaugurated: Chongqing - Qianjiang (towards Xiamen) will enter service with 18 daily trains between the two cities. Thirty-two additional trains will also link western cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing to cities in central China such as Changsha and Nanchang.
