Source: Economic Daily
A test train travels between Huangshengguan Station and Huanglong Jiuzhai Station of the Sichuan-Qingdao Railway. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Hongjing
On September 14, with the opening of the Meizhou West to Longchuan West section of the Longlong High-speed Railway, the operating mileage of China's railways exceeded 160,000 kilometers, of which more than 46,000 kilometers were high-speed railways, an increase of 64.2% and 392.2% respectively compared with the end of 2012.
in 1949, 21,000 km; in 1978, 52,000 km; in 2003, 73,000 km; in 2012, 98,000 km; In 2024, 160,000 km...... China's total railway mileage has embarked on an exponential upward curve. Today, the mileage exceeds 160,000 kilometers, what does this mean for the railway industry?
The world's busiest rail network
During the upcoming National Day holiday, the national railway is expected to send 175 million passengers, of which October 1 is the peak day for passenger flow, which is expected to exceed 21 million.
Railway is not only an important national economic industry, but also an important people's livelihood security system. From north to south, the "eight vertical" passages cross the river; From east to west, the "eight horizontal" passage crosses mountains and mountains...... With an operating mileage of 160,000 kilometers and tens of millions of passengers a day, China's railways have become the world's busiest transportation railway network, meeting the travel needs of the masses.
Li Jingwei, deputy director of the Development and Reform Department of China Railway Group, said that since 2012, China's railway fixed asset investment has completed 9.65 trillion yuan, and a total of 66,000 kilometers of railways have been completed and put into operation, including 38,000 kilometers of high-speed rail, and the growth rate of railways and high-speed rail operating mileage is much higher than that of major countries in the world. The scale and quality of the railway network in China have achieved a major leap, and the operating mileage and commercial operation speed of high-speed railways rank first in the world.
At present, railways cover 99% of cities with a population of more than 200,000, and high-speed railways cover 96% of cities with a population of more than 500,000. China's high-speed rail operating mileage ranks first in the world, more than the total operating mileage of high-speed railways in other countries in the world, and China is also the only country in the world to achieve commercial operation of high-speed rail at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
Sufficient mileage provides room for the railroad to improve service.
"We continue to improve passenger transport capacity and service quality, which has injected strong momentum into serving the people's convenient travel and accelerating the modernization process of the mainland." Lu Haizhou, deputy director of the transportation department of China Railway Group, introduced.
The passenger capacity of the railway has been greatly improved. At present, the maximum capacity of China's railway passenger trains in a single day exceeds 12,000, of which more than 10,000 high-speed rail EMUs are running, an increase of 184% and 426% respectively compared with 2012. On May 1 this year, 20.693 million passengers were sent, setting a record high in the number of passengers sent in a single day. The mainland has built a new generation of 12306 ticketing system, the largest in the world in terms of visits and transactions, and through the implementation of Internet ticketing and e-ticketing, it has completely ended the history of people queuing for a long time to buy tickets and taking trains with paper tickets.
According to the data, in 2023, China's railway passenger dispatch volume and turnover volume will complete 3.85 billion person-times and 1,472.9 billion person-kilometers respectively, an increase of 103.6% and 50.1% respectively compared with 2012, ranking first in the world in both indicators.
A number of technologies are leading in the world
On September 6, the Hangzhou-Wenzhou high-speed railway was officially put into operation. "The Hangzhou-Wenzhou high-speed railway is not only a national mixed-ownership reform pilot and a demonstration project for social capital investment in railways, but also runs the concept of digitalization and intelligence through the whole chain of construction and construction." Li Zijian, the builder of the 22nd Bureau of China Railway, introduced.
The 160,000 kilometers of operating mileage are not all plains and fertile soil, but more of them are crossing mountains and seas, rivers and tunnels. While increasing the operating mileage, the mainland railway industry has continuously broadened its fields to meet different needs, and the design, construction and operation level of high-speed, alpine, plateau, and heavy-haul railways has entered the world's advanced ranks, and the level of railway intelligence and greening has been continuously improved, and it continues to lead the development of the world's railways.
Take, for example, the Fuxing high-speed train. The 160,000-kilometer operating mileage provides a broad stage for the R&D and operation of the Fuxing. Zhao Hongwei, chief researcher of China Academy of Railway Sciences Group Co., Ltd., introduced that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China Railway has adhered to independent innovation, developed a new generation of Fuxing high-speed trains, controlled core technologies, and improved self-reliance and self-improvement capabilities.
In terms of design, Continental has built a data-driven integrated design and manufacturing platform, which has increased the efficiency of vehicle design and development by 30%, forming the world's leading and largest batch manufacturing capacity of high-speed trains, with a high-speed train production capacity of 550 standard groups per year.
"The overall technical level of the mainland railway has entered the world's advanced ranks, and the intelligent high-speed rail technology has fully realized independence, forming a large number of scientific and technological innovation achievements represented by the Fuxing EMU." Liu Dawei, director of network information security of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Information Technology of China Railway Group, said.
Today, the mainland railway has built a complete set of technical systems covering the three major fields of high-speed rail construction, equipment manufacturing, and operation management, with the Beijing-Zhangjiakou and Beijing-Xiongxiong intelligent high-speed railways taking the lead in the world to achieve automatic driving at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway and other major high-speed rail corridors achieving high-standard operation at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
Promote international transport cooperation
The operating mileage of railways has exceeded 160,000 kilometers, especially the high-speed railways exceeding 46,000 kilometers, which not only better serves the domestic economic and social development, but also has become a golden signboard for its stable operation, promoting China's railway standards to go abroad and helping international transport cooperation.
From the perspective of standard cooperation, China Railway has presided over more than 300 UIC, ISO and IEC international standard formulation and revision projects, and all 13 system-level international standards in the field of UIC high-speed rail have been formulated by China Railway, further enhancing the international influence and voice of China Railway.
From the perspective of transport cooperation, railway exchanges with other countries continue to deepen. Since its opening on April 13, 2023, the China-Laos Railway has attracted a large number of domestic and foreign passengers with its safe, comfortable and convenient services. The international passenger trains of the China-Laos Railway have carried a total of 1.14 million passengers, effectively promoting friendly exchanges between the people of China and Laos.
Not only the China-Laos Railway, but also the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, as a landmark project of China-Indonesia cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, has increased the number of daily trains from 14 at the beginning of its operation to 52 during peak periods, sending nearly 5 million passengers in total. The Benoy section of the Hungarian Railway Serbia operated safely and smoothly, sending more than 8.8 million passengers.
"Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China Railway Group has created a number of landmark projects and interconnection projects with exemplary significance, promoted economic and trade exchanges, improved people's livelihood and well-being, contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the development of the world's railways, and benefited more and more countries and people." Bao Zhongqing, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of China Railway Group, introduced.
The number of international trains and the quality of their operation continue to improve. Since the unification of the brand in 2016, the number of China-Europe freight trains has increased from 1,702 in that year to more than 17,000 in 2023, and the annual value of goods transported has increased from US$8 billion to US$56.7 billion.
Xiao Yongqing, a researcher at the Institute of Transportation and Economics of the China Academy of Railway Sciences Group Co., Ltd., said that the mainland high-speed rail has the comprehensive advantages of advanced technology, safety and reliability, comfort and warmth, and high cost performance. (Economic Daily reporter Qi Hui)