
China plans to double high-speed rail network by 2035
Officials at China Railway Group have stated that railway and highspeed rail (HSR) construction in China will not slow down after the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue unabated. Over the next 15 years, the state-owned railway builder plans to double the size of China’s rail network, constructing another 200,000 kilometres of railway by 2035.
More accurately, this will mean a 41% increase in rail-lines across the country, up from 141,400km today, and 70,000km of high-speed tracks that can handle speeds of more than 250km/h compared to the current 36,000km.
The ambitious blueprint is unveiled whilst the Beijing government seeks to compete with the USA for the top spot as the world’s biggest economy.