Sichuan's railway construction expanding at faster pace

Railway construction in Southwest China's Sichuan province is picking up in intensity as the province steps up efforts to build itself into an inland transportation hub within China as well as a bridge that connects the country with rest of the world, the province's Party secretary said on Monday.

Peng Qinghua, secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said at a media conference in Beijing that Sichuan is currently building multiple railways in all directions.

"Before 1949, the infrastructure of Sichuan province was quite outdated. There was no railway, and the total length of highways was merely 2,000 kilometers," Peng said.