IRJ at UIC High-Speed World Congress 2025: The length of China’s high-speed network will surpass 50,000km by the end of this year, Xiude Song, president of China Railway (CR), told delegates during the opening session of this week’s conference taking place in Beijing.
Song also revealed that CR is aiming to expand the network to more than 70,000km by the end of 2035, and increase the maximum speed to 400km/h from 350km/h today, which is already the fastest in the world.
China’s high-speed network reached 48,000km at the end of 2024, accounting for 70% of the world’s total high-speed lines. High-speed trains now serve 97% of cities with a population of more than 500,000, with Chinese officials, including minister of transport, Wei Liu, crediting construction of the network for boosting China’s economic development by slashing journey times between major cities.
Four of the planned eight major north-south and east-west corridors are now complete, with work progressing to complete the remainder of the network. Currently, more than 10,000 high-speed trains are in service in China, carrying 16 million passengers per day, with 26 million tickets sold every day through a real-time distribution channel.
Technology
The unveiling of the CR450AF prototype high-speed train by CRRC in December 2024 is considered a key development in meeting the new objective of 400km/h operation on major corridors. Early trials are proving promising, according to CRRC president, Yongcai Sun, who said that 420km/h has been achieved during line testing.
Sun added that CRRC is continuing to work on developing the necessary technologies to support 400km/h operation. It is cooperating closely with the China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS) and CR to develop and deploy new digital and intelligent technologies that they say will push the boundaries of high-speed operation and deliver a new era of high-speed rail in China and potentially elsewhere, as the country pursues its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese-led projects in Laos, Indonesia, Hungary and Serbia were all highlighted during the event.
According to Guoqing Zhang, vice-premier of the State Council, when China began its high-speed journey in the 2000s, its railway sector was reliant on foreign suppliers. “We quickly caught up and kept pace, and are now on the verge of taking the lead globally,” he said.
