China's rapid rail network with its backbone of high-speed rail will stretch to more than 50,000 kilometers by 2020, media reported Saturday.
"China's rail network, already the world's longest with more than 17,000 kilometers, will soon stretch considerably further," He Huawu, chief engineer of China Railway Corporation, told the second China-Russia Transport University Presidents' Forum held in Beijing on Friday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xinhua cited an anonymous source at the forum as saying that the rapid transportation network will serve 80% of the cities with populations topping half a million people by 2020.
Official data from the State Council said the nation will build new high-speed rail stretching more than 16,000 kilometers by 2020, to form a rail network consisting mainly of high-speed railways, the news agency said.
The additional railway will be installed in the western part of the country.
"We have accumulated rich experience in practice. With strong financial and technical support, it is possible for us to fulfill the task ahead of schedule," Wang Mengshu, a rail expert of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told the Global Times.
China has produced more than 3,000 high-speed trains with advanced world level operational efficiency, carrying approximately 3 million passengers daily.
Passengers using high-speed rail consume less than 8 kilowatt hours of electricity per 100 kilometer, which is six times less than traveling by plane, according to He.
Wang added that most of its construction has focused on the country's densely populated eastern and central region, when western China is also crucial as it serves as a transportation hub linking central Asia and China.
