In 2025, the national railway system is expected to transport a total of 4.28 billion passengers, an increase of 4.9 percent year-on-year, and it forecasts it will transport 4.03 billion tons of cargo this year, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) said during an annual work conference on Thursday, setting major tasks for the coming year. China Railway, the operator of the national railway network, said that it will strive to complete 590 billion yuan ($80.8 billion) of railway infrastructure investment and put 2,600 kilometers of new lines into operation in 2025. The total revenue from transportation is expected to reach 1.016 trillion yuan, an increase of 25.8 billion yuan or 2.6 pe rcent year-on-year, according to a statement sent to the Global Times from China Railway on Thursday. 

In 2025, China Railway will promote the test and assessment of the new CR450 high-speed train, which is designed for a maximum running speed of 400 kilometers per hour. The most advanced CR450 high-speed bullet train made its debut in Beijing on Sunday. According to the Xinhua News Agency, upon entering commercial service, it will be the fastest high-speed train in the world. In a broader plan, the national railway operating mileage is expected to reach 180,000 kilometers by 2030, of which about 60,000 kilometers will be high-speed railways - unprecedented in the world, demonstrating that the "1-2-3 circles" for passenger trips and the transportation of goods will be fully formed, CCTV news reported. 

This year, the focus of railway network construction seems to be on how to achieve high-quality development to better meet the changes in social demand and increase cost-efficiency in investment, Sun noted. 

Zhang said that China Railway will establish and improve the product and standard system of tourism trains to help develop the tourism economy, snow and ice economy and the silver economy. In 2024, a total of 1,860 trains dedicated to tourism promotion were operated, up 20 per cent year-on-year, said China Railway."Such new railway products can better meet and boost customers' demand for tourism and commuting. Meanwhile, tourism trains can better serve inbound travelers," said Sun. 

China's railway system carried 4.08 billion passengers in 2024, a year-on-year growth of 10.8 per cent, and the number of passengers transported by railways in a single day reached a record high of 21.448 million. The number of passengers transported during the Spring Festival and other holidays repeatedly set historical records, according to China Railway. Sun noted that new railway lines, in operation or planned, are more dedicated to meeting the specific demands of regional residents. He cited the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway line - which was launched on December 26, 2024 - as an example, saying the new line precisely meets the travel demands of the region. 

"It used to take a whole night to travel from Shanghai to Huzhou (in East China's Zhejiang Province) by ship. Then, with an expressway, the journey was shortened to about 2 hours by car. Now, with the new high-speed rail, it takes less than an hour at the fastest," said Sun.