China Focus: China's high-speed rail mileage tops 50,000 km-Xinhua

A "Fuxing" bullet train is pictured at Yan'an Station of the new Xi'an-Yan'an high-speed railway in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Dec. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen)

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 km with the launch of a new high-speed line.

A "Fuxing" bullet train departed Friday morning from Yan'an, a sacred revolutionary heartland in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for the provincial capital Xi'an, inaugurating the new route.

The Xi'an-Yan'an high-speed railway is designed to handle speeds of up to 350 km per hour and is set to reduce travel time between the two cities to around an hour.

China's high-speed rail journey began in 2008 with the commencement of the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway. Since then, its network has seen phenomenal growth, with operating mileage surpassing the combined total of all other countries in the world. It also operates the world's fastest commercial high-speed rail services.

According to data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the national railway operator, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China constructed and put into operation 12,000 km of high-speed railways.

Today, high-speed rail services are accessible in 97 percent of Chinese cities with populations exceeding 500,000.

"China's high-speed rail has achieved historic accomplishments and realized higher-quality development. It has become a shining national flagship and a vivid embodiment of Chinese modernization," said Yu Jian, an expert from the China Railway Economic and Planning Research Institute.

The vast railway network enables 1 to 2-hour travel within 500-km city clusters, 4-hour journeys between major cities 1,000 km apart, and same-day trips over 2,000 km.

With a single-day passenger capacity reaching 16 million, it's as if the entire population of a megacity is on the move across this high-speed rail system every day.

The expansion strengthens links among major hubs and city clusters while integrating less developed counties and regions into the national economy, unlocking new pathways for local development.

Friday also saw the commencement of several new high-speed rail routes, including the 314-km Wuhan-Yichang section of the railway connecting Shanghai, Chongqing, and Chengdu, as well as the 131-km Hangzhou-Quzhou line in east China's Zhejiang Province.

These new lines are providing robust infrastructure support for regional economic growth, with cities along the routes actively seizing the opportunities presented.

Chen Tingting, a commerce official of the city of Tianmen in central China's Hubei Province, noted that the newly opened Wuhan-Yichang line would facilitate the development of a new cross-city industrial cooperation model.

China's engineering feat is powered by sustained breakthroughs in independent innovation. A Fuxing train operating at 350 km/h consists of over 40,000 components. Of the 254 critical technical standards applied, 84 percent are Chinese, with the overall design and core technology fully developed domestically.

Further pushing the boundaries of speed, the world's fastest bullet train, the CR450, has begun a battery of pre-service trials on a high-speed line in China, achieving a single-train speed of 453 km per hour.

"With key parameters like operating speed and energy efficiency leading the world, the CR450 has set the first global performance benchmark for trains operating at a speed of over 400 km per hour," said Li Yongheng, an official with China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

Wei Jigang, an official with the Development Research Center of the State Council, noted that China's modern infrastructure development has made significant strides in recent years.

"The growth of transport infrastructure like high-speed rail not only connects places but also creates new value across regions," Wei said. ■

A train arrives at Peng'an West Station of Bazhong-Nanchong high-speed railway in Peng'an County of Nanchong City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 27, 2024. The high-speed railway connecting Sichuan's Bazhong and Nanchong cities was open to operation on the same day. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

A "Fuxing" bullet train departed Friday morning from Yan'an, a sacred revolutionary heartland in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for the provincial capital Xi'an, inaugurating the new route. (Xinhua/Liu Yonghong)

Passengers pose for a group photo inside a carriage of the G5766 bullet train running on the Chongqing West to Yibin East section of Chongqing-Kunming high-speed railway in southwest China, Sept. 29, 2024. The section connecting southwest China's Chongqing municipality and Sichuan's Yibin City began operation on the same day, with the fastest travel time between the two places being 48 minutes. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 6, 2024 shows a bullet train running along the Hangzhou-Wenzhou high-speed railway in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. The new high-speed railway linking Hangzhou and Wenzhou began operations on the same day. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

A bullet train of Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway passes through Juyongguan Tunnel and heads for Taizicheng from Beijing, Jan. 21, 2022. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

The CR450AF bullet train with an operational speed of 400 kilometers per hour is debuted in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2024. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

A Fuxing train runs on the Beijing-Harbin high-speed railway in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Jan. 22, 2021. The Beijing-Harbin high-speed railway opened to traffic on the same day. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

The first inter-city train from Beijing to north China's Tianjin departs from Beijing South Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 1, 2008. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

An aerial drone photo taken on June 20, 2022 shows a bullet train running on the Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway in Dongjin new area of Xiangyang City, central China's Hubei Province. The Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway opened to traffic on the same day. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

Train attendants dressed in performance costumes prepare for performances for passengers at Xingshan Station of the Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway in Yichang City, central China's Hubei Province, June 20, 2022. The Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway opened to traffic on the same day. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 31, 2023 shows a bullet train running on the Yinpohe Bridge along the Guiyang-Nanning high-speed railway in Dushan County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

Two passengers from southeast China's Taiwan speak with their family in a video chat while taking the Fuxing bullet train G9801 on the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. China's fastest cross-sea high-speed rail started operation on the same day, with trains running at a maximum speed of 350 km/h along the west coast of the Taiwan Strait. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows a test train running on the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.

The first train of the Jinnan-Zhengzhou high-speed railway departs from Zhengzhou East Station in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Dec. 8, 2023. The Jinnan-Zhengzhou high-speed railway was open for operation on the same day. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.