High-speed rail network to cover 113 Chinese cities by 2020

A photo shows the planning map of the high-speed railway lines in China. The red lines are to be constructed during the 13th "Five-Year-Plan" period (2016-2020). [Photo: chengtu.com]

China's high-speed rail network will cover 113 major cities by 2020, with all cities of more than 200,000 residents being linked by rail and express ways, and have at least one civil airport, according to the 13th "Five-Year-Plan" (2016-2020) on transport issued by the State Council.

By 2015, China had already built 19,000 kilometres of high-speed rail, covering most capital cities and some cities with more than 500,000 residents. By 2020 new lines will be built, including lines between Beijing and Hong Kong, Beijing and Kunming, Lanzhou and Guangzhou, so that 80 percent of cities with over one million residents will have high-speed rail stations.

In 2015, there were 207 civil airports in China. By 2020, the figure will rise to 260.

Over the five-year-plan period, China will build 572,000 kilometres of roads, including 22,000 kilometres of highways. Half of vehicles will be fitted with the ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system, 20 percent more than in 2015.

The urban mass transit network will be doubled to reach 3300 kilometres in 2020.

The government will also build 150 transport hubs from 2016 to 2020 to shorten the transfer time between different transport means.