China sets timetable for $190 bn railway expansion

BEIJING, Nov 23: China plans to invest 1.5 trillion yuan (190.7 billion dollars) in expanding its politically and economically vital rail network to cover 90,000 km (56,000 miles) by 2010, the official China Daily said today.

China also hopes to set up inter-city passenger express services with speeds of at least 200 kph, the paper quoted Li Guoyong, transportation director at the National Development and Reform Commission, as saying.

Most of the money, 1.25 trillion yuan, will be spent on new lines and civil engineering, with main trunk lines scheduled for completion around 2010, the article said.

Slow services, busy trunk lines and poor service remain a hallmark of China's railways.

In 2004, the country's worst power shortages in two decades were exacerbated by bottlenecks in the railway system that left coal sitting outside mines while power plants stood idle.

But the rail system has also helped draw remote regions like Tibet and northwestern Xinjiang closer into Beijing's orbit and is a vital long-distance transport system for the many Chinese who cannot afford air travel.

Among recent modernising attempts, officials have attempted to lure passengers back from the booming aviation industry with high-tech services including personal televisions in the most comfortable overnight cabins.

Reuters