Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu High-Speed Railway - Train Transport in ChinaShanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu High-Speed Railway - Horizontal Train Transport in ChinaShanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu High-Speed Railway - China Horizontal HSR CorridorShanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu High-Speed Railway - 250-350 km/h - 2,078 kilometres (1,291 mi) Line | Route Description | Designed Speed (km/h) | Length (km) | Construction Start Date | Open Date | Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu (Huhanrong PDL) | HSR Corridor through the Yangtze Valley, consisting of an intercity railway line, and 7 mixed-use HSR segments connecting Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, Yichang, Lichuan, Chongqing, Suining & Chengdu. | 200- 350 | 2078 | 2003-12-01 | 2013-12-28 | Shanghai-Nanjing | HSR connecting Shanghai and Nanjing | 350 | 301 | 2008-07-01 | 2010-07-01 | Nanjing-Hefei (Hening PDL) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Nanjing & Hefei | 250 | 166 | 2005-06-11 | 2008-04-19 | Hefei-Wuhan (Hewu PDL) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Hefei & Wuhan | 250 | 351 | 2005-08-01 | 2009-04-01 | Hankou (Wuhan)-Yichang (Hanyi R.R.) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Wuhan & Yichang | 200 | 293 | 2008-09-17 | 2012-07-01 | Yichang-Wanzhou (Yichang-Lichuan section of Yiwan R.R.) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Yichang & Lichuan | 200 | 377 | 2003-12-01 | 2010-12-23 | Lichuan-Chongqing (Yuli R.R.) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Lichuan & Chongqing | 200 | 264 | 2008-12-29 | 2013-12-28 | Chongqing-Suining (Suiyu R.R.) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Chongqing & Suining | 200 | 132 | 2009-01-18 | 2012-12-31 | Dazhou-Chengdu (Suining-Chengdu section of Dacheng R.R.) | Mixed passenger & freight HSR connecting Suining & Chengdu. | 200 | 148 | 2005-05 | 2009-06-30 | Rail Transport in China - China has 16 MainlinesSixteen 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 - Beijing-Harbin Railway
- East Coast Corridor
- Beijing-Shanghai Railway
- Beijing-Kowloon Railway
- Beijing-Guangzhou Railway
- Datong-Zhanjiang Corridor (Datong-Puzhou, Taiyuan-Jiaozuo, Luoyang-Zhanjiang)
- Baotou-Liuzhou Corridor (Baotou-Shenmu, Shenmu-Yan'an, Xi'an-Yan'an, Xi'an-Ankang,
- Xiangyang-Chongqing, Sichuan-Guizhou, Guizhou-Guangxi)
- Lanzhou-Kunming Corridor (Longhai, Baoji-Chengdu, Chengdu-Kunming)
Eight Horizontals - Beijing-Tibet (Beijing-Baotou, Baotou-Lanzhou, Lanzhou-Qinghai,
- Qinghai-Tibet)
- Northern Coal Transport Corridor
- Southern Coal Transport Corridor
- Trans-Eurasia Corridor (Longhai, Lanzhou-Xinjiang, Northern Xinjiang)
- Nanjing-Xi'an Railway
- Yangtze River Corridor (Nanjing-Tongling,
- Tongling-Jiujiang, Wuhan-Jiujiang, Changjiangbu-Jingzhou,
- Yichang-Wanzhou, Dazhou-Wanzhou)
- Shanghai-Kunming Railway
- Southwest Coastal Access Corridor (Nanning-Kunming, Hunan-Guangxi, Litang-Zhanjiang)
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 DetailMajor Operators: China State Railway Group Company, LimitedRidership: 3.660 billion passenger tripsPassenger km: 1,470.66 billion passenger-kilometresFreight: 4.389 billion tonnesChina System LengthTotal: 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 GaugeChina 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 FeaturesChina 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 Tunnel38.813 kilometres (24.117 mi)China Rail Transport Number of Bridges: 47,524 (2008)China Rail Transport Longest Bridge: Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge164.8 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 PassNotes[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. |