In a guest commentary for CGTN, Keith Lamb, a University of Oxford graduate with a Masters in Science in Chinese Studies, writes that not only does China already today have 38,000 km of high-speed rail (HSR) — a larger high-speed rail grid than the rest of the world combined — it also plans to expand that grid to 200,000 km by 2035. The development of public infrastructure has been a priority since the first reforms under Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, Lamb writes.
But China has also developed maglev, Lamb continues: “In September, the Chinese Academy of Engineering announced that two new maglev lines, carrying passengers at 600 km/h, will be built between 2025 and 2030. The 164 km Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev line will link up with the existing Shanghai to Pudong airport maglev and turn the journey into a 15-minute commute. The 110 km Guangzhou-Shenzhen line will eventually be connected to Hong Kong’s Kowloon Station. At present, there are nine lines being planned which will, in total, stretch over 1,000 km. Lines will be built in Yunnan, Shanxi, Xinjiang, Sichuan, and Chongqing.”
