In recent years, China's road, railway and other transportation systems have become more and more perfect, China's infrastructure is developing rapidly, China is also known as the "infrastructure demon". Among the many infrastructure projects, high-speed rail is undoubtedly the most eye-catching business card.
At the end of 2021, China's high-speed rail operating mileage exceeded 40,000 kilometers. In the face of this major achievement, what is unexpected is that behind the successful construction of China's high-speed rail is a continuous loss.
In three quarters, there has been a continuous loss of 69.8 billion, why has China's high-speed rail been losing money? And why is it still building after the loss?
Why does high-speed rail continue to lose money?
On December 30, 2021, the Beijing-Hong Kong high-speed railway from Anqing to Jiujiang was opened for operation, announcing that the operating mileage of the mainland high-speed railway exceeded 40,000 kilometers.
The mainland high-speed rail network has been further improved, and the total mileage of high-speed rail can circle around the equator. However, in the process of rapid development of high-speed rail, the amount of loss behind it is shocking. According to the 21-year financial report of the Continental Railway Group Corporation, in the first three quarters, the company's net loss was 69.8 billion yuan.

The amount of losses for railway groups is not accidental, but has long been the norm. The mainland population is huge, and the passenger flow of high-speed rail is certainly quite large.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Transport, the passenger flow of this year's Spring Festival is expected to exceed last year's 1.48 billion passengers. High-speed rail is also the main means of passenger transport in the mainland, and there are not many people who take high-speed rail. So, what is the reason for the loss of high-speed rail so serious?
First of all, the investment and construction cost of high-speed rail is high, and the cost of high-speed rail per kilometer is about 150 million yuan. For example, the mainland's famous Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, which not only spans 7 provinces and cities, but also is a hub connecting the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta, and its project cost is as high as 220.94 billion yuan.
Second, the operating costs of high-speed rail are higher. The annual electricity cost of the mainland high-speed rail is more than 500 million yuan, coupled with labor costs, maintenance and repair costs, etc., and the annual operating costs are relatively high.
Finally, the cost of investing in high-speed rail requires a longer payback period. For high-speed rail to be profitable, it needs to reach at least 120% of the carrying capacity.
But in most areas, the capacity of high-speed rail is not more than 80%, not to mention some remote areas, which is simply losing money to operate. Affected by the epidemic, the passenger flow of the mainland high-speed rail has suffered a shock that has not been affected before, and the passenger flow is very small. Therefore, affected by the above factors, the loss of China Railway Group has become the norm.
Where did all the money go?
There will certainly be many people who say that although the mainland high-speed rail has continuously lost money, there must be profits. Yes, in the first three quarters of 2020, the total operating income of the mainland high-speed rail was 679.464 billion yuan.
On the surface, this data may seem like a large amount, but in the process of operation, a company cannot only have revenue and no debt. In the same year, the total liabilities of high-speed rail were 5.57 trillion yuan, and the net loss of high-speed rail came out.
In fact, only the Beijing-Shanghai line is profitable on China's existing high-speed rail. Other high-speed rails have fallen into a long-term loss due to insufficient passenger capacity, coupled with the impact of the epidemic in the past two years, the number of people sitting on high-speed rail has decreased significantly, and the operating income of high-speed rail has naturally declined.
But even if not many people take the high-speed rail, the high-speed rail is still running, so the cost of the high-speed rail has not decreased. As long as a train runs, it needs to pay the labor costs and maintenance costs consumed during the operation.
Compared with the cost of high-speed rail, the operating income of about 680 billion yuan is far from returning to the cost, and the return cycle of high-speed rail is also long. At present, there are about 2,500 high-speed railways in operation in the mainland, and the cost of harmony alone is about 200 million, and this is still not counting the amount of maintenance costs.
The cost of the train is relative to the cost of the railway, which is simply a small witch. As mentioned earlier, the cost of the mainland high-speed rail per kilometer is about 150 million yuan, which is also without considering the terrain and later maintenance.
It is conceivable how much money is needed to invest in the mainland to break through the operating mileage of 40,000 kilometers.
High-speed rail also has profitable routes, such as first-tier cities have a very large passenger flow and strong profitability, but now most of the high-speed rail is in an idle state, resulting in a large number of high-speed rail high investment, low return phenomenon. Therefore, the income brought by the profit of high-speed rail is far less than that of the loss, and most of the money earned is used to build railways, pay labor costs and other costs.
In the state of loss, why continue to build?
First, it is to facilitate transportation and people's travel.
As an indispensable part of national infrastructure, high-speed rail is very important for both the national transportation industry and the travel of ordinary people.
High-speed rail can transport some things that other means of transport cannot transport, and can greatly shorten the time distance between the two places. For people in remote areas, the construction of high-speed rail has undoubtedly made them have a more convenient way to travel.
The second is to drive the development of more industrial chains.
The development of China's high-speed rail can play a leading role in the development of the mainland high-speed rail industry chain and other related industrial chains. High-speed rail is a high-end industry, and its precision parts manufacturing, machine tool manufacturing, and the manufacture of some electronic information equipment have injected a driving force into the development of many industrial chains in the mainland, which is conducive to promoting the transformation of domestic manufacturing to high-end in the mainland.
The third is to achieve major economic benefits.
The construction of high-speed rail, whether in terms of invested funds or in the process of construction, has great difficulties that ordinary infrastructure cannot compare. Although the completion of high-speed rail is costly, the economic benefits it brings cannot be ignored.
It can not only promote economic development, but also provide a large number of jobs, consolidate the mainland's poverty alleviation achievements, etc., can bring tangible benefits to the mainland's development, and effectively play a role in daily life.
According to reports from relevant departments, investing 100 million yuan in the construction of high-speed rail can bring 20 times or even 30 times the economic return. It can be seen from this that the return brought by the construction of high-speed rail is very considerable.
Although the mainland's high-speed rail group is in a state of continuous loss, it is still building high-speed rail. This is enough to show that the country attaches great importance to the construction of high-speed rail, and it can also prove how many benefits high-speed rail brings.
Although the construction of the mainland high-speed rail is in a state of loss, in the long run, it has brought convenience to the people in all aspects and provided certain help for various industries.
Contributions to the continent cannot be measured in monetary terms. The national railway department has also made certain adjustments to the current status of high-speed rail, trying to avoid unnecessary losses.
The purpose of the country's high-speed rail is not to make a profit, and high-speed rail is not a simple facility, it not only drives economic development, but also benefits 1.4 billion Chinese.