The Chinese government plans to spend 3.5 trillion Yuan ($503 billion) for the expansion of the railway system. The project is expected to complete by 2020 and would cover an area of high-speed rail network to 30,000 kilometres (18,600 miles). The distance would cover all the major cities of the country and will be about 6.5 times the length of a road trip between New York and Los Angeles.
The plans call for the renovation of expressways and faster construction of railways to serve less-developed regions in central and western China. For the first time, the country took it to a private company to operate an inter-city rail service on the mainland.
Under the plan released, China will also add 3,000 kilometres to its urban rail transit system. By end of 2015, about 121,000 kilometres of railway lines of China was under high-speed tracks. Yang Yudong, administrator of the National Railway Administration informed that the Chinese government would invite private investment to participate in funding intercity and regional rail lines.
Keeping in mind the business perspective, the government will adjust the fares to ensure viable rail businesses.
