Flag of China

Railways in

China

High Speed Train at Guangzhou South
CRH380A-0259 Vibrant Express high speed train of MTR at Guangzhou South station forming a service to Hong Kong West Kowloon.
At the next platform is a CR400BF train of China Railway.

The first railway line in China was a narrow gauge line between Shanghai and Woosung (Wusong). It opened in 1876 but was closed and lifted within two years. The first line to form part of the modern network was the 11km standard gauge (1435 mm) Kaiping Colliery Tramway near Tangshan, opened in 1881 as a private mineral line but later expanded to become part of the China Railway Company.

China now has an extensive network of mainly standard gauge railways serving most parts of the country, including several modern high speed lines.

International connections exist with the broad gauge systems of Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan, and with the standard gauge systems of Laos and North Korea. A feasibility study is under way for a new standard gauge rail link with Kyrgyzstan. A railway is under construction to Ruili near the border with Myanmar, where it is eventually planned to connect with a new standard gauge railway to Mandalay.

There is no physical connection with the railway system of Vietnam, but cross-border interchange is possible.

Main Line Railways

Narrow Gauge Railways

A number of early railways were constructed to narrow gauge, but most have subsequently been converted to standard gauge. In addition, there were many short narrow gauge railways for industrial purposes such as mining and logging. This section list a few such railways still in operation.

Metros and Trams

Funicular

See also:

Back to Top
Railways Home
Railways of the World
Glyn Williams’ Home

© 2005-2023 Glyn Williams
Photo image by N509FZ from Wikimedia Commons