Total domestic and international loans fell by 30% in 2017 to Yuan 697.4bn. CRC’s long-term debt totalled Yuan 5 trillion and its debt ratio remained stable at 65.2%.

Revenue in 2017 rose by a more modest 11.9% to Yuan 1.02 trillion. This comprises Yuan 316.2bn for freight, Yuan 319.7bn for passenger, and Yuan 321.2bn from other activities. However, operating costs at Yuan 769.5bn exceeded operating revenue by Yuan 137.6bn, while other costs were only Yuan 189.1bn, resulting in an overall operating loss of Yuan 5.6bn.

Passenger journeys rose by 7.4% to 770 million, but the number of passengers travelling by high-speed services increased by 14.3% to 440 million, meaning that 57% of traffic is now by high-speed train. Freight tonnage increased by 7.8% to 780 million tonnes in 2017.

CRC invested Yuan 800bn in 2017 and constructed 3038km of new lines increasing the total length of the network to 127,000km of which 25,000 is high-speed lines. This year CRC plans to invest Yuan 732bn of which Yuan 702bn if for the construction of 3500km of high-speed lines and 500km of conventional lines.