BEIJING – China is planning to build more that 1,800 miles of new railway lines this year, including 1,500 miles of high-speed railroad, Chinese media reports.Construction includes a total of 102 railway projects planned in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development and Vision 2035 of China.
China Railway this year hopes to achieve $118.5 billion in business revenues, up 18% over 2022, and restore overall revenue to the level of 2019, according to a statement China Railway sent to the Global Times, the English-language, state-affiliated Chinese newspaper. A total of 1.61 billion rail passenger trips were made in 2022 and China Railway expects to carry 2.69 billion passengers in 2023. Its target for freight is to ship 3.97 billion tons of goods, up 1.8% compared to last year.
China Railway says it spent $103.9 billion in capital investment in railways in 2022 and put 2,547 miles of new lines in operation, including 1,293 miles of high-speed railways. This brought the total length of railways in operation in China to 96,312 miles at the end of 2022, including 26,097 miles of high-speed lines.
China is also building high-speed railway lines in other countries, such as Indonesia’s first high-speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung. Construction began in 2016 and is set for completion this year. At the end of 2021, a railroad line between China and Laos was opened. In Europe, China is involved in the construction of a line between Belgrade, Serbia and Budapest, Hungary.
China is building more rail millage in this one year than the US has constructed in the last 100 years (ACL & SAL Florida boom, GN &WP inside gateway, & BN’s Powder river basin projects being the biggest). Even if US Railroads wanted to build new lines, it would take decades because of all the environmental impact statements, NIMBY’s, & lawsuits.
Politicians and other backers of the California High Steep rail line said it would take 10 years and cost about $37 billion to build. As of now it’s been 15 years plus, spent over $40 billion already, built less than 100 miles of track, & projected to take another 12 years to build and another $40 plus billion to complete. Should it get completed it probably take till 2050, cost over $200 billion, and travel speed will be only 125 MPH.
With the collapse of the housing market (some 30 % of Chinese GNP) the government needs to spend (waste?) money elsewhere on infrastructure projects to keep the economy going. Local governments are out of money and aren’t able to build their own infrastructure (including grandiose museums).
Meanwhile back in the good old U.S. of A. ……….