China's railway investment grows 7% in first seven months

BEIJING - China's fixed asset investment in railways hit 371.3 billion yuan ($ 51.9 billion) in the first seven months of 2023, representing a 7 percent increase compared to the same period last year, data from the China State Railway Group Co Ltd showed.

The company revealed that in the previous month, the completion of renovation projects on some railways has both eased travel for passengers and boosted transport capacity and efficiency, particularly in the country's western region.

For instance, the upgrade project for the Xining-Golmud section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway allowed 160 km/h bullet trains to operate, easing passengers' travel to Golmud and Delingha, hot travel spots in Qinghai province in Northwest China.

An upgrade project at the Lanzhou-Xining section of the Lanzhou-Urumqi High-speed Railway allowed the operation of 250 km/h trains, cutting travel time between Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu province, and Xining, capital of the neighboring Qinghai province, to as short as 59 minutes.

The company said that construction work on multiple new railway projects has been progressing smoothly since the start of this year, and some key projects achieved milestones in the construction process.

In July, the nation's railways recorded 406 million passenger trips. During the month, 10,169 trains were operating daily, up 14.2 percent compared to the same period in 2019, according to the company.