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China Railroads
China's first railroad line was built in 1876. In the 73 years
that followed, 22,000 kilometers of track were laid, but only half
were operable in 1949. Between 1949 and 1985, more than 30,000
kilometers of lines were added to the existing network, mostly in
the southwest or coastal areas where previous rail development had
been concentrated. By 1984 China had 52,000 kilometers of operating
track, 4,000 kilometers of which had been electrified. All
provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities, with the
exception of Xizang Autonomous Region, were linked by rail. Many
double-track lines, electric lines, special lines, and railroad
bridges were added to the system. Railroad technology also was
upgraded to improve the performance of the existing rail network.
There still were shortcomings, however. Most of the trunk lines
were old, there was a general shortage of double-track lines, and
Chinese officials admitted that antiquated management techniques
still were being practiced. There were plans in the late 1980s to
upgrade the rail system, particularly in east China, in the hope of
improving performance.
China's railroads are heavily used. In 1986, the latest year
for which statistics were available, railroads carried 1 billion
passengers and 1.3 billion tons of cargo. The average freight
traffic density was 15 million tons per route-kilometer, double
that of the United States and three times that of India. Turnaround
time between freight car loadings averaged less than four days.
Between 1980 and 1985, China built about 3,270 kilometers of
new track, converted 1,581 kilometers to double track, and
electrified 2,500 kilometers of track. The total investment in this
period amounted to over -Y21.4 billion (for value of the
yuan--see Glossary).
Railroads accounted for over two-thirds of the total
ton-kilometers and over half the passenger-kilometers in China's
transportation systems. China's longest electrified double-track
railroad, running from Beijing to Datong, Shanxi Province, was
opened for operation in 1984. One of the world's highest railroads,
at 3,000 meters above sea level in Qinghai Province, also went into
service in the same year, and improved doubletrack railroads, some
of them electrified, offered a fast way to transport coal from
Shanxi Province to the highly industrialized eastern part of the
country and the port of Qinhuangdao for export.
Production and maintenance of modern locomotives also made an
important contribution to increased rail capacity. Manufacturing
output in the mid-1980s increased significantly when production of
electric and diesel locomotives for the first time exceeded that of
steam-powered ones. China hoped, in the long-run, to phase out its
steam-powered locomotives. In the mid-1980s China had more than
280,000 freight cars and about 20,000 passenger cars. The country
still was unable, however, to meet the transportation needs brought
about by rapid economic expansion.
Data as of July 1987
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