A heavily-invested project broke ground Sunday to build a new railway in Beijing's eastern outskirts.

At a total cost of 3.4 billion yuan (about US$ 410 million), the 19-kilometer railway will extend from the Sihui subway station in Chaoyang District to the Tuqiao station in Tongzhou District in eastern Beijing.

Most sections of the railway will be built on ground and some on elevated bridges. And there will be 13 stations along the railway.

The railway is expected to be completed by the end of 2003, according to sources.

Beijing to Invest 200 Billion to Improve Traffic Network

Beijing has decided to invest 180 billion yuan (US$ 21.7 billion) in the next five years to build more roads, railways, sewage processing plants and pipe lines.

The city will build both over and underground railways to lengthen its rail system to 138 km, 85 km longer than the length in 2000.

The city is also planing to improve expressway networks around its international airport.

China's Railway Construction Grow Rapidly in Past Five Years

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) period, railway construction in China has reached a historical record. The industry has fulfilled capital construction of 246 billion yuan, double that in the Eighth Five-Year Plan period.

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, China has built 5,700 km of railway lines and 4,300 km of existing lines electrified. Of the new lines, 4,100 km are double-tracked, Ren added.

Statistics show that a turnover of 1,907.8 billion passenger-km has been completed in the five years, 14.7 percent higher than that of the Eighth Five-Year Plan period. A turnover of 6,409.1 billion-km of cargo has been carried, up 7.4 percent.

( December 31, 2001)