China’s high-speed rail network on track to breach 50,000km milestone in 2025

China’s railway operator is laying track for a record-breaking 2025, with the country’s total high-speed railway mileage projected to reach over 50,000km and transport revenue set to surpass 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion).

China will add another 2,600km of high-speed railway to its 48,000km network this year, the state-owned China State Railway Group – also known as China Railway – said at its annual work conference on Wednesday as reported by official news agency Xinhua.

With the first high-speed passenger line only opening in 2008, achieving the milestone in 2025 would indicate an extraordinary pace of expansion.

As of 2024, high-speed lines accounted for 30 per cent of the national railway operating mileage of 162,000km, a significant increase from the 20 per cent proportion reported in 2017.