China plans 19% high-speed rail expansion by 2030 amid global dominance in the sector

Beijing is looking to expand China’s world-leading network of high-speed trains by 19 per cent within five years in an ongoing bid to boost connectivity across the country.

The national railway operator unveiled the blueprint on Sunday to expand the country’s operational rail network to around 180,000km (112,000 miles) by 2030 – with high-speed routes totalling 60,000km and accounting for one-third of the full network – as part of the country’s infrastructure push under the nation’s 2026–2030 five-year plan.

“China has built the world’s largest … high-speed rail network,” China State Railway Group said in a press release, pointing to its related technology as an “international benchmark”.

Between 2021 and 2025, China’s high-speed rail network surged by nearly 33 per cent from 37,900km to 50,400km, while its total railway network expanded by 12.8 per cent from 146,300km to 165,000km, according to data from the state operator.

The newly established target for the next five years underscores central leadership’s ambition to cement China’s dominance in high-speed rail, as its mileage already represents more than 70 per cent of the global total, according to a report released by the UIC, a Paris-based global rail industry body, at the World Congress on High-Speed Rail in July.

In addition to expanding mileage, China State Railway Group committed to accelerating technological innovation over the next half-decade. This includes finalising operational testing and design of trainsets capable of reaching 400km/h (249mph), alongside advancing trial validation.

South China Morning Post