China's high-speed rail network exceeds 31,000 miles

By Emre Aytekin

BEIJING (AA) - China's high-speed rail network has exceeded the target of 50,000 kilometers (around 31,000 miles), according to data from the China State Railway Group Company.

A 299-kilometer high-speed rail line connecting Xi'an, the administrative center of the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and Yanan, a city of historical significance for its role as a refuge and base during the Communist Revolution in China, has been put into service, Xinhua reported on Friday.

With the opening of the line, the length of China's national high-speed rail network has exceeded the 50,000-kilometer target set in the 14th Five-Year Development Plan covering the years 2021-2025.

China first entered the high-speed rail infrastructure era in 2008 with the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway.

Between 2008 and 2020, the construction of numerous new lines across the country brought the high-speed rail network to 38,000 kilometers (23,600 miles).

Some 12,000 kilometers of high-speed rail network were built and put into service during the 14th Five-Year Development Plan period.

During this period, high-speed rail infrastructure reached 97% of cities with a population of over 500,000.