| Rail traveling is the most generally used means of | | | | 1949, the evolution of the railway network in China |
| long-distance transport in the Republic of China. | | | | was sluggish one. In 1945, just subsequent to the |
| Approximately all rail functions are looked after by the | | | | Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese mainland |
| Railways ministry, which is a division of the State | | | | maintained 27,100 km of rail, approximately half of |
| Council of the People's Republic of China. By the | | | | which, 13,000 km, was to be found in Manchuria. |
| conclusion of 2009, the functioning rail network pass | | | | The size of the Chinese railway network expanded |
| through the length and breadth of the nation, | | | | since 1949, but there has also been great |
| enveloping a total length of 86,010 km, making just the | | | | advancement as far as technology was concerned. |
| rail networks in the United States bigger in size By | | | | Initially till the 1980s, majority of the railways were |
| 2007, Chinese Railway possessed nearly 578,110 | | | | power driven by steam, owing to less labour costs and |
| wagons, 44,0200 coaches and 18,310 locomotives and | | | | inexpensive coal prices. Nevertheless, the foremost |
| had more than 36,310 trains running everyday, including | | | | diesel locomotive, the Dongfeng, was launched in 1959 |
| nearly 3000 commuter trains and 33,311 cargo trains. | | | | and during the 1980s and 90s, diesel and electric |
| The system today serves all states, with the | | | | locomotives very slowly took the place of the steam |
| exemption of the special directorial area of Macau. | | | | engines on chief lines. |
| History | | | | From the year 1990 to 2001, on average some 1,192 |
| The primary railway track to be constructed in China | | | | km of fresh railways, 837 km of multiple-track, and 965 |
| was the Woosung Railway in the year 1876, which | | | | km of electrified railways were released to traffic |
| was a 15 mile railway track from Shanghai to | | | | every year. On a global basis, mainland China's rail |
| Woosung. Then in the 1911, there was nearly 9010 km | | | | transport number is one of the world's biggest, having |
| of railway track in China. The initially planned and | | | | six percent of the world's operating railways, and |
| constructed railway by Chinese is the Jingzhang | | | | transporting nearly 25 percent of the world's total |
| railway made from 1905 to 1909, a tough job owing to | | | | railway workload. |
| the mountainousland. The main engineer of this railway | | | | Current network China has about twenty chief |
| was Zhan Tianyou, who is also famous as the Father | | | | domestic railway routes with the complete length of |
| of Chinese Railway. | | | | 78,100 km by the end of 2007. The length was |
| Throughout the Republic of China age from 1912 till | | | | augmented to 86,100 km by the end of 2009. |