Explainer | Is it full steam ahead for China’s high-speed rail network after summer travel surge?
China’s railway network transported 887 million passengers over the two month summer season in July and August
First launched in 2008, the network is considered essential to the world’s second-largest economy and its 1.4 billion population.
And with the return of high-volume transport to post-Covid levels, China has resumed its plans to link the country via high-speed railway.
How did China’s railway network perform over the summer?
The 62-day summer transport season in July and August concluded with China’s railway network having transported 887 million passengers, with a daily average of 14.31 million, the China State Railway Group reported last month.
The total passenger number represented a 6.7 per cent increase from the same period last year.
At the start of the summer season from July 1 to July 24, the national railway network had transported 423 million passengers.
What new infrastructure is China introducing?
At the start of August, Shenzhen approved the building of the Xili Transportation Hub, which would integrate different train lines. The mega hub is intended to become one of the largest transport junctions in China, and will be completed in 2026.
