China has every reason to celebrate its technological excellence for its rail network. So explained the chairman of the China State Railway Group, Guo Zhuxue, earlier this month, lining up figures - and records.
The Chinese railway company has reached a new milestone. Its network of high-speed trains exceeded 50,000 kilometres last year. At the same time, its national rail network carried some 4.26 billion passenger journeys (+4.2% compared with 2024). That's 23.13 million passengers every day!
During the 14ᵉ five-year plan (2021-2025), the length of the rail network in operation increased from 146,300 kilometres to 165,000 kilometres, an increase of 12.8 %. The high-speed network has grown even faster. It increased by almost 33 %, from 37,900 kilometres to 50,400 kilometres.
" China has built the world's largest and most advanced high-speed rail network "said Guo Zhuxue. In fact, the length of China's high-speed network is equivalent to the entire networks of all the other countries combined.
Investment in rail infrastructure remained strong, up 6% to $128.9 billion. More than 3,100 kilometres of new lines were brought into service, including 2,862 kilometres of high-speed lines.
During his presentation, the Chairman of China State Railway Group set out his 2026 targets: 4.4 billion passengers, an increase of 3.5 %. The company plans to open more than 2,000 kilometres of new lines this year. With one objective already clearly defined: by 2030, China plans to extend its total rail network to around 180,000 kilometres, including almost 60,000 kilometres of high-speed lines.
