Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun said on January 8 that the state
has started large-scale railway construction with the objective of
developing a comprehensive network over the next five years,
according to a People's Daily report on January 8.
At the National Railways Conference held on January 6, it was
announced that the state will construct new railway lines
stretching 17,000 kilometers; 7,000 kilometers specifically for
passenger transportation, including 4,464 kilometers of track for
fast trains capable of speeds of more than 300 kilometers per
hour.
This is part of a plan to be carried out over the next five
years, under China's 11th Five-Year Guidelines (2006-2010), to
develop a comprehensive railway and rapid transit system network.
The plan will involve a total investment of 1,250 billion yuan
(about US$155 billion).
Liu said, "In the recent two years, work on 89 new projects have
started, with a focus on the construction of passenger and coal
transport. The new railway system will stretch 10,500 kilometers
and rebuilt railways 9,400 kilometers, with investment exceeding
600 billion yuan (about US$74.4 billion).
Liu added that 87 new projects will be launched in 2006 at an
estimated cost of 160 billion yuan (about US$19.8 billion). Over
the next five years, construction will continue on special lines
for passenger transport like those from Beijing to Shanghai,
Beijing to Guangzhou, Beijing to Harbin, Shenyang to Dalian and
Lanzhou to Lianyungang. The refurbished systems will cater to fast
trains capable of speeds up to 300 km/h.
He said that work will also commence on inter-city rail
transport systems from Beijing to Tianjin, Shanghai to Nanjing,
Shanghai to Hangzhou, Nanjing to Hangzhou, Guangzhou to Shenzhen,
Guangzhou to Zhuhai, providing trains with speeds of more than 200
km/h.
Liu said: "A comprehensive network will be developed over the
next five years with Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Wuhan,
Guangzhou, Xi’an and Chengdu as hubs. Travel time from these hub
cities to neighboring provincial capital cities will be a maximum
of two hours, and a maximum of half an hour to nearby cities."
"The network will enhance transportation for 70 percent of
cities with populations of more than half a million, and a total of
700 million people will directly benefit from the improvements." he
said.
The freight transportation network will also be enhanced. Four
existing north-south lines will be converted to an electric system,
including lines from Beijing to Shanghai, Beijing to Guangzhou,
Beijing to Kowloon, and Jiaozuo to Liuzhou. Total freight
capacities will reach 400 million tons or more.
The line linking Tianjin, Qinhuangdao and Shenyang will also be
electric to raise its freight transportation capacity to 120
million tons.
An east-west passage will include routes from Shanghai to Wuhan
to Chengdu, from Lanzhou to Chongqing, Xi'an to Ankang and Kunming
to Liupanshui, with freight capacities in and out of the
southwestern region of the country of up to 300 million tons.
Routes in and out of the northwestern region will include the
construction of double-track railways from Taiyuan to Zhongwei to
Yinchuan, from Lanzhou to Chongqing and Lanzhou to Wuwei, and the
electrization of the railway from Shizuishan to Lanzhou to enhance
freight transportation capacities to over 200 million tons.
Work to improve coal transport routes will center around the
country's ten largest coal producing bases. Lines from Datong to
Qinhuangdao, and from Houma to Yueshan will be rebuilt to enlarge
their transportation capabilities. The aim is to develop a coal
transportation system with a capacity of more than 1.5 billion
tons.
Liu said that these measures should solve current issues
relating to national economic development being hampered by a
lagging railway system.
Liu added that the Ministry of?Railways will increase its
stockpile of equipment and engine vehicles. The ratio of
domestically manufactured locomotive vehicles to imports will reach
75 percent, that of high-powered electric engines to 70 percent,
and that of high-powered internal combustion engines to more than
85 percent.
Engineers and experts are currently focused on learning and
understanding foreign technology.
Liu said: "We are trying to maximize on the market potential in
China and balance that with cost efficiency. Homegrown technology
costs 20 to 40 percent less than imports."
(China.org.cn by Zhou Jing, January 12, 2006)