How China built the world’s largest high-speed rail network

How China built the world’s largest high-speed rail network

By Published November 24, 2022

China's first high-speed railway started operating in 2008 between Beijing and Tianjin. Since then, the country has built a network that spans nearly 40,000km (25,000 miles) and is now the world’s largest for bullet trains that can travel up to 350km/h (220mph). The network is getting bigger, with plans to extend it to 50,000km by 2025, and 200,000km by 2035.

How it compares

China’s high-speed rail network is bigger than the combined length of other comparable networks.

1964 1981 1991 1992 1997 2008 2004 2020 2009 0km (in thousands) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Japan France Germany Spain Italy China South Korea Turkey 594km 893km 921km 3,330km 1,571km 2,734km 3,041km 35,388km Year high-speed rail network started operating Length of high-speed rail track (February 2020)
1964 1981 1991 1992 1997 2008 2004 2020 2009 0km (in thousands) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Japan France Germany Spain Italy China South Korea Turkey 594km 893km 921km 3,330km 1,571km 2,734km 3,041km 35,388km Year high-speed rail network started operating Length of high-speed rail track (February 2020)
1964 1981 1991 1992 1997 2008 2004 2020 2009 0km (in thousands) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Japan France Germany Spain Italy China South Korea Turkey 594km 893km 921km 3,330km 1,571km 2,734km 3,041km 35,388km Year high-speed rail network started operating Length of high-speed rail track (February 2020)
Japan 1964 France 1981 Germany 1991 Spain 1992 Italy 1997 China 2008 South Korea 2004 2020 Turkey 2009 35,388km 3,041km 3,330km 2,734km 594km 893km 921km 1,571km Year high-speed rail network started operating Length of high-speed rail track (February 2020)

World’s fastest trains

Shanghai Maglev, the world’s fastest commercially operated train with a top speed of 431km/h, uses magnetic levitation (maglev), rather than conventional track.

Fastest ever built?

In July 2021, China unveiled a maglev train capable of travelling at a top speed of 600km/h, “the fastest ground vehicle available globally”, according to state media. CRRC Group, China’s biggest train maker, has yet to release a detailed plan for commercialising the train.

Visual story by
Dennis Wong

Associate Creative Director Marcelo Duhalde
Edited by Andrew London and Robyn Schorn
Cover image by Victor Sanjinez

Sources: World Bank Group, National Bureau of Statistics of China, 中国高速铁路的发展, Statista

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