China's railways to rise to 120,000 km by 2015

China's total mileage of railways open to traffic will increase to 120,000 kilometers by the end of 2015, including 50,000 kilometers of railways in the western regions, an official said Tuesday.
China currently has 91,000 kilometers of railways, said Sheng Guangzu, railway minister, at a meeting celebrating the 150th anniversary of Zhan Tianyou's birth.
Born in 1861, Zhan was a distinguished Chinese railroad engineer, nicknamed the "Father of China's railroad". He was the chief engineer responsible for construction of the Imperial Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, the first railway built in China without foreign assistance.
Sheng said all railway engineers and workers should use Zhan as their model to achieve the goal of modernizing the nation's railways as soon as possible.
Weekly review April 20 Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail to remove luxury seats April 18 China undergoing shift into nation of consumers April 18 Zhejiang checks food, raids illegal bun makers April 19 SASS: Chinese students mentally healthier than Asian peers April 23 The week in pictures April 19 Build legal bulwark against moral decline April 21 'China model' 30 years on: from home to abroad April 21 Piano student's bloody crime heart-wrenching in China April 18 China places firmer lid on home prices April 19 China puts brake on economic bullet train