CHINA'S Ministry of Railways has reported a ridership increase of 9.3% year-on-year to 417.8 million passengers in the first quarter of 2010. Usage peaked during the 40-day spring festival season when an estimated 204 million passengers took the train. Freight traffic was also up at 899.9 million tonnes during the first three months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 18%.
CHINA'S Ministry of Railways has reported a ridership increase of 9.3% year-on-year to 417.8 million passengers in the first quarter of 2010. Usage peaked during the 40-day spring festival season when an estimated 204 million passengers took the train. Freight traffic was also up at 899.9 million tonnes during the first three months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 18%.
China's fixed-asset investment in the railway industry is expected to reach Yuan 823.5 billion ($US 120.6 billion) in 2010, including Yuan 700 billion in new infrastructure construction and funds for 70 new projects.
One project that is set to be completed on April 26 following four-and-a-half years of construction is the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed line. During recent testing, the CRH bullet trains that will operate on the route reached 283km/h during the 247km trip. Journeys between Xiamen West and Fuzhou South are estimated to take 1h 6 min, and 1 h 8min on the return leg when the line begins full operation.
