"Last year, fixed asset investment in the national railway sector reached 801 billion yuan." On the morning of January 2, Lu Dongfu, General Manager and Party Secretary of China Railway Corporation, revealed at the corporation's annual work conference that fixed asset investment in the national railway sector will be set at 732 billion yuan this year.
In addition, by 2020, the national railway operating mileage will reach about 150,000 kilometers, basically covering cities with a population of more than 200,000; of this, high-speed rail will account for about 30,000 kilometers, covering more than 80% of major cities.
Lu Dongfu said that last year the railway sector completed all of its 2017 targets and tasks. In terms of railway construction, fixed asset investment in the national railway sector reached 801 billion yuan, of which 760.6 billion yuan was completed by national railways; 35 new projects were started, adding an investment scale of 356 billion yuan; 3,038 kilometers of new lines were put into operation, and the "four vertical and four horizontal" high-speed rail network was completed and put into operation ahead of schedule.
"Passenger and freight transport grew strongly," Lu Dongfu said. National railways completed 3.039 billion passenger trips, up 9.6% year on year, of which 1.713 billion trips were by EMU trains, up 18.7% year on year and accounting for 56.4%; freight volume reached 2.918 billion tons, up 10.1% year on year, and 3,600 China-Europe freight trains were operated.
In addition, "technological innovation reached a new level, and the Fuxing trains are running across the vast land of the motherland." It is reported that the Chinese-standard EMU was named "Fuxing" and achieved commercial operation at 350 kilometers per hour, setting a new benchmark for the construction and operation of high-speed rail in the world.
In his report, Lu Dongfu said that in 2017 China Railway's operating efficiency improved significantly, with total railway transport revenue reaching 695.8 billion yuan, an increase of 101 billion yuan year on year, or 17%, the highest increase in history.
Finally, major progress was made in the corporate system reform of national railway enterprises. Lu Dongfu said that 18 railway bureaus were restructured into group companies; the organizational reform of the corporation's headquarters was successfully completed, with the number of headquarters departments, internal institutions, and staffing reduced by 10.3%, 26.6%, and 8.1%, respectively.
China Railway Corporation also set its 2018 goals: no major or above-level responsibility accidents in railway safety; national railways to complete 3.25 billion passenger trips, 3.02 billion tons of freight, and total converted turnover of 3.89 trillion ton-kilometers; fixed asset investment in the national railway sector to be set at 732 billion yuan, of which 702 billion yuan for national railways; and 4,000 kilometers of new lines to be put into operation, including 3,500 kilometers of high-speed rail.
Lu Dongfu said that by 2020, the national railway operating mileage will reach about 150,000 kilometers, basically covering cities with a population of more than 200,000; of this, high-speed rail will account for about 30,000 kilometers, covering more than 80% of major cities; railways in the central and western regions (including the three northeastern provinces) will reach about 112,000 kilometers, with double-track and electrification rates reaching 60% and 70%, respectively.
At the same time, the number of EMU trains in service will reach about 3,800 standard sets, including more than 900 "Fuxing" trains. Efforts will be made to expand the railway network to about 175,000 kilometers by 2025, including about 38,000 kilometers of high-speed rail; and by 2035, to take the lead in building a developed and modern railway network.