Train travel in China, reaching new high

[yonitabonita]

An interesting article about the monstrosity of travelling by train over the Spring Festival break below.

Taken from http://www.hindu.com/

China's railway transportation reaches new high

Beijing, Jan 29. (PTI): China's railway transportation volume

accounted for a quarter of the world's total, though the country has

only six per cent of global operational railway mileage, the Ministry

of Railways has claimed.

China beat all other countries in passenger and cargo traffic last

year, with its passenger turnover hitting 662.2 billion person-

kilometres and freight turnover reaching 2.87 billion tonne-

kilometres, Railway spokesperson Wang Yongping said.

The general railway turnover also topped the world with a total of

2.86 trillion tonne-kilometres, 130 billion ton-kilometres more than

that of the United States and one and a half times that of Russia.

Meanwhile, the country has only 76,600 kilometres of railways in

operation, making the density of its railway transportation the

largest in the world.

"Although China's railways have the highest efficiency of transport,

they still lag far behind the nation's economic and social

development," Wang said.

The country can provide more than 2.42 million seats for railway

travellers daily, only half the number of daily passenger traffic

during the peak season of the Spring Festival, China's traditional

New Year Festival.

In 40 days starting from February three, more than 156 million

passengers will travel by trains, according to the ministry's

estimation.

But even before the busiest period, Beijing's largest railway station

was already hit by its first peak of passenger traffic.

[skylee]

And the train speed is increasing too -> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2007-01/16/content_784091.htm