China Track Network - China Train Track Length

China Track Network - China Train Track Length

As of 2019, the length of railways in China totaled 139,000 km (86,371 mi), including 59% double tracked (83,000 km) and 71.9% electrified (100,000 km), and 35,000 kilometres (21,748 miles) of high-speed rail (HSR) network. Railway electrification is made with the AC 27.5kV 50 Hz system.

China had the second longest railway network in the world and the longest high-speed rail network, while all provinces and regions are connected by national rail except Macau, or high-speed rail except Tibet and Macau.

In 2011, the network length was about 91,000 kilometres (56,545 miles), including 41.1% double tracked (37,000 km) and 46.6% electrified (42,000 km). As of 2014 50.8% of the railroad was double-tracked (57,000 kilometres (35,418 miles)) and 58.3% was electrified (65,000 kilometres (40,389 miles)). The railway network's density was 116.48 km per 10,000 km2.

China Rail Track Length

Year	km	±%
1949	21,800	-
1955	25,600	+17.4%
1960	33,900	+32.4%
1965	36,400	+7.4%
1970	41,000	+12.6%
1975	46,000	+12.2%
1980	53,300	+15.9%
1985	55,000	+3.2%
1990	57,800	+5.1%
1995	62,400	+8.0%
2000	68,700	+10.1%
2005	75,400	+9.8%
2010	90,504	+20.0%
2011	93,300	+3.1%
2012	97,600	+4.6%
2013	103,000	+5.5%
2014	112,000	+8.7%
2015	121,000	+8.0%
2016	124,000	+2.5%
2017	127,000	+2.4%
2018	131,000	+3.1%
2019	139,000	+6.1%
2020	146,000	+5.0%
2021	150,000	+2.7%
2025	170,000	+13.3%
2035	200,000	+17.6%

Source: 2018 Rail Statistics Public Report

High Speed Rail Track Length

Year	km	±%
2008	2,740	-
2009	3,676	+34.2%
2010	5,149	+40.1%
2011	8,358	+62.3%
2012	9,356	+11.9%
2013	11,028	+17.9%
2014	16,726	+51.7%
2015	19,210	+14.9%
2016	22,000	+14.5%
2017	23,000	+4.5%
2018	29,000	+26.1%
2019	32,200	+11.0%
2020	37,900	+17.7%
2021	40,000	+5.5%
2025	50,000	+25.0%
2035	70,000	+40.0%

Rail Transport in China Track Gauge

China Rail Transport Standard Gauge:: 79,685 kilometres (49,514 mi) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in) gauge (2008)
China Rail Transport Metre Gauge:: 466 kilometres (290 mi) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3/8 in) (Kunming-Hai Phong railway)
China Rail Transport Narrow Gauge:: 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) 750 mm (2 ft 5+1/2 in) gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.)

Rail Transport in China Mainlines

Sixteen major rail corridors consisting of eight running north-south, called verticals, eight running east-west, called horizontals, connect 81 major cities. The 16 mainlines were designated in January 2001, when some 3,980 kilometres (2,470 mi) of the lines were still unbuilt. At that time, the existing mainlines accounted 43% of the railroads in the country but carried 80% of the passengers. The last of the vertical mainlines was completed in 2009 and the last horizontal line opened in 2010.

Eight Verticals

Eight Horizontals

Rail Transport in China High-Speed Lines

In the past decade, China has been building an extensive high-speed rail grid that is overlaid onto the existing railway network.
This grid is composed of eight high-speed rail corridors, four verticals and four horizontals with a total length of 12,000 km.
Most of the new lines follow the routes of existing trunk lines and are designated for passenger travel only.
Several sections of the national grid, especially along the southeast coastal corridor, were built to link cities that had no previous rail connections.
Those sections will carry a mix of passenger and freight. High-speed trains on passenger dedicated lines can generally reach 300-350 km/h (190-220 mph).
On mixed-use HSR lines, passenger train service can attain peak speeds of 200-250 km/h (120-160 mph).
This ambitious national grid project was planned to be built by 2020, but the government's stimulus has expedited time-tables considerably for many of the lines.

China's Operational Statistics Detail

Major Operators: China State Railway Group Company, Limited
Ridership: 3.660 billion passenger trips
Passenger km: 1,470.66 billion passenger-kilometres
Freight: 4.389 billion tonnes

China System Length

Total: 146,000 km (91,000 mi)[a]
Double Track: 83,000 km (52,000 mi)
Electrified: 100,000 km (62,000 mi)
High-Speed: 35,000 km (22,000 mi)

China Track Gauge

China Rail Transport Main Track: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in)
China Rail Transport High-Speed Track: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in)
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in) standard gauge 79,685 kilometres (49,514 mi) (1998)
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3/8 in) metre gauge 466 kilometres (290 mi)
750 mm (2 ft 5+1/2 in) 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) (1998 est.)

China's Track Features

China Rail Transport Number of Tunnels: 16,084 (2019)
China Rail Transport Tunnel Length: 18,041 kilometres (11,210 mi) (2019)
China Rail Transport Longest Tunnel: Songshanhu Tunnel
38.813 kilometres (24.117 mi)
China Rail Transport Number of Bridges: 47,524 (2008)
China Rail Transport Longest Bridge: Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge
164.8 kilometres (102.4 mi)
China Rail Transport Number of Train Stations: 5,470 (2008)
China Rail Transport Highest Elevation: 5,072 metres (16,640 ft) at Tanggula Pass

Notes
[a] ^ There is a significant discrepancy in the total length of China's railways reported by China Statistical Yearbook (120,970 km (75,170 mi) at year end 2015) and the CIA Factbook (191,270 km (118,850 mi) in 2014). The CIA Factbook figure is based on "the total length of the railway network and of its component parts." The Statistical Yearbook figure includes "the total length of the trunk line for passenger and freight transportation in full operation or temporary operation" and measures the actual route distance between the midpoints of railway stations. Any double-tracked route or route with a return track of shorter distance is counted using the length of the original route. The length of any return tracks, other tracks within stations, maintenance and service tracks (such as those used to turn trains around), tracks of fork lines, special purpose lines and non-revenue connecting lines are excluded. The Statistical Yearbook provides cross-year and cross-regional breakdowns of railway length and its figures are presented in China railway articles.

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