Inter-city Rail Projects Cleared

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Friday approved a batch of inter-city rail transit networks, spanning more than 2,000 kilometers, to accelerate regional integration.

The nation's economic planner said on its website that it has cleared the plan to build the network across central China, mainly in Henan province. The network is expected to link nine cities and has a total length of 496 kms.

It also includes amendments on plans of the networks across the Pearl River Delta region, with a length of 1,478 kms, as well as metro lines in Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

"The plans are a continuation of China's supportive policy on infrastructure construction," said Ou Guoli, a professor at the business and management department of the Beijng Jiaotong University.

"It will create huge investment opportunities and benefit industries like steel, cement and telecommunications," Ou said.

According to Ou, the average cost of a railway transit system ranges from 100 million yuan to 200 million yuan per km.

The cost is even higher for metro lines, with an average cost of 600 million yuan per km.

China's urbanization has come to a certain stage when there are more and more requirements on transportation efficiency, indicating a speed-up in the country's rail transit system, Ou said.

China has launched 31 metro lines in 10 cities. The State Council last year approved 79 additional metro lines in 22 cities, at an estimated investment cost of around 882 billion yuan. That in turn is expected to create huge demand for rail-related businesses, particularly, for train makers.