China Plans to Rapidly Grow Its Urban Rail Systems

SEPTEMBER 29, 2012 BY NATHAN 

The central government of China has approved 25 new rail projects in cities across the country — in total, hundreds of billions of dollars in new construction.

As China’s growth has continued to slow, and the U.S. and Europe have continued to perform poorly economically, the leadership in China has decided to accelerate its plans for rapid transit networks throughout all its major cities as part of a larger transportation infrastructure program. More than $127 billion (or 800 billion yuan) is to be used over the next 3-8 years in order to create 25 new subways and elevated rail lines.

“Though China’s high-speed rail network (now the largest in the world) has garnered most of the headlines when it comes to transportation there, the nation’s investments in urban rail have been just as dramatic and serve far more people on a daily basis. Its three largest metropolitan areas — Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing — feature the world’s fourth, fifth, and sixth most-used transit systems, providing more than five million rides each daily, more than similar networks in New York or Paris. Most of these cities’ lines opened since 2000.”

Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1oFR3)