Transport in China
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Transport in China has experienced major growth and expansion in recent years. Although China's transport system comprises a vast network of transport nodes across its huge territory, the nodes tend to concentrate in the more economically developed coastal areas and inland cities along major rivers.[1] The physical state and comprehensiveness of China's transport infrastructure tend to vary widely by geography. While remote, rural areas still largely depend on non-mechanized means of transport, urban areas boast a wide variety of modern options, including a maglev system connecting the city center of Shanghai with Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Airports, roads, and railway construction will provide a massive employment boost in China over the next decade.
Much of contemporary China's transport systems have been built since the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. The railway, which is the primary mode of long distance transport, has seen rapid growth reaching 139,000 km (86,371 mi) of railway lines making it the second longest network in the world (2016).[2][3] Prior to 1950, there were only 21,800 km (13,546 mi) of railway lines. The extensive rail network includes the longest and busiest HSR network in the world with 35,000 km (21,748 mi) of high-speed lines by year end 2019.[4][3] While rail travel remained the most popular form of intercity transport, air travel has also experienced significant growth since the late 1990s. Major airports such as Beijing Capital International and Shanghai Pudong International being among the busiest in the world. At the end of 2017,[5] there are some 34 metro systems in operation across China, including some of the largest and busiest subway networks in the world. Of the 12 largest metro networks in the world by length, seven are now in China.[6] Additionally, many bus rapid transit, light rail and rapid transit lines are currently under construction, or in the planning stages across the country. The highway and road system also has gone through rapid expansion, resulting in a rapid increase of motor vehicle use throughout China. A government-led effort started in the 90s to connect the country by expressways via the National Trunk Highway System has expanded the network to about 97,000 km (60,273 mi) by the end of 2012[7] making China's the longest expressway network in the world.
History
[edit]China is in the midst of a massive upgrade of its transport infrastructure. Until recently, China's economy was able to continue to grow despite deficiencies in infrastructure development. This is no longer the case, and the government realizes that to keep the economy moving forward, they need an efficient system in place to move goods and people across the country. According to World Bank statistics, goods lost due to poor or obsolete transport infrastructure amounted to one percent of China's GDP as recently as the most current survey (mid-1990s). Logistic costs account for 20% of a product's price in China, compared to 10% in the United States, and 5% in other developed countries.
Ports are being improved for greater use of China's waterways, and airports are being improved across the country. Related industries such as construction equipment, engineering, container security, and electronics and safety devices have also grown rapidly.
Regulation
[edit]Mainland China
[edit]Transport in mainland China is regulated by a new agency formed from the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Railways, the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Special administrative regions
[edit]The aforementioned transport authorities have no jurisdiction in Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong's transport is regulated by the Transport Department of Hong Kong, whereas Macau's transport is regulated by the Transport Bureau of Macau.[8]
Rail
[edit]Rail is the major mode of transport in China. In 2019, railways in China delivered 3.660 billion passenger trips, generating 1,470.66 billion passenger-kilometres and carried 4.389 billion tonnes of freight, generating 3,018 billion cargo tonne-kilometres;[9] both traffic volumes are among the highest in the world. The high volume of traffic that China's railway system carries makes it critical to China's economy. China's railway system carries 24% of the world's railway transport volume on only 6% of the world's railways. China has the world's second longest railway network; as of 2020 it is 146,300 km (90,907 mi) long.[10] About 71.9% of the network is electrified in 2019.[9]
In 2011 China's railway inventory included 19,431 locomotives[11] owned by the national railway system. The inventory in recent times included some 100 steam locomotives, but the last such locomotive, built in 1999, is now in service as a tourist attraction while the others have been retired from commercial service. The remaining locomotives are either diesel- or electric-powered. Another 352 locomotives are owned by local railroads and 604 operated by joint-venture railways. National railway freight cars numbered 622,284[11] and passenger coaches 52,130 .[11]
Because of its limited capital, overburdened infrastructure, and need to continuously modernize, the national rail system, which is controlled by the Ministry of Railways through a network of regional divisions, operates on an austere budget. Foreign capital investment in the freight sector was allowed beginning in 2003, and international public stock offerings opened in 2006. In another move to better capitalize and reform the rail system, the Ministry of Railways established three public shareholder-owned companies in 2003: China Railways Container Transport Company, China Railway Special Cargo Service Company, and China Railways Parcel Express Company.
In recent decades, rail use in China has seen significant growth in the volume of goods and passengers transported. Since 1980, the volume of goods transported (metric tons times kilometers traveled) has increased by 305% and the volume of passengers (million passengers times kilometers traveled) has increased by 485%.[12] During this same time period, total length of rail lines has only increased by 34%.[12]
1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 | 2017 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rail lines (total route-km)[13] | 49,940 | 53,378 | 58,656 | 66,239 | 66,989 | ||
Goods transported on railways (metric tons times kilometers traveled) | 570,732 | 1,060,100 | 1,333,606 | 2,451,185 | 2,308,669 | ||
Passengers carried on railways (million passengers times kilometers traveled) | 138,037 | 263,530 | 441,468 | 791,158 | 807,065 | ||
Urban rail transit (kilometers)[5] | 5,033 | ||||||
Subway (kilometers)[5] | 3,844 | ||||||
Urban rail transit under construction (kilometers)[5] | 6,246 | ||||||
Bus rapid transit (kilometers)[14] | 2,991 |
Regional development
[edit]In 1992, a new large-scale rail project was launched in China, called the "New Silk Road" or "Eurasian Continental Bridge" project. The project involved the modernization and infrastructure development of a 4,131 km (2,567 mi) railroad route starting in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, and traveling through central and northwestern China to Urumqi, Xinjiang, to the Alataw Pass into Kazakhstan. From that point, the railroad links to some 6,800 km (4,225 mi) of routes that end in Rotterdam.
China also has established rail links between seaports and interior export-processing zones. For example, in 2004 Chengdu in Sichuan was linked to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in coastal Guangdong; exports clear customs in Chengdu and are shipped twice daily by rail to the seaport at Shenzhen for fast delivery.
Tibet
[edit]A 1,080 km (671 mi) section of the Qingzang railway has been completed from Golmud to Lhasa. The 815 km (506 mi) section from Xining to Golmud in Qinghai opened to traffic in 1984. The railway's highest point, the Tanggula Mountain Pass, is 5,072 m above sea level, making it the highest railway in the world. More than 960 km (597 mi), or over four-fifths of the railway, is at an altitude of more than 4,000 m, and over half of it was laid on frozen earth. Because of the high altitudes, carriages are supplied with supplemental oxygen.
Linking Lhasa and Shigatse together in Tibet, the construction of a 254 km (158 mi) extension line of the Qingzang railway started in 2009 with completion expected by 2014.
High-speed rail
[edit]The high-speed service is mainly operated by China Railway High-speed. HSR developed rapidly in China over the past 15 years thanks to generous funding from the Chinese government. With ridership exceeding 1.44 billion in 2016, China's HSR service was the most heavily used in the world.[15][16] In 2016, the network is the longest in the world and accounted for about two-thirds of the world's high-speed rail tracks[17] and operated with 2,595 high-speed trains, accounting for about 60 percent of all global high-speed trains.[18][needs update]
Maglev
[edit]China also has the world's first commercial high-speed maglev (magnetic levitation) service, Shanghai Maglev Train (the first maglev service opened at Birmingham International Airport, United Kingdom, in 1984; however, it was not high-speed). The Chinese project, a Sino-German joint venture, was a 38-km-long route between downtown Shanghai and the Pudong airport that opened in 2003. The project cost US$1.2 billion.[19] Low speed commuter maglevs using ingenious technology have opened in Changsha (Changsha Maglev) and Beijing (Line S1, Beijing Subway).
In January 2021 a prototype for a new high-speed maglev train capable of 620 km/h (390 mph) was unveiled. Developed by Southwest Jiaotong University near Chengdu, Professor He Chuan, vice president of the university, told reporters that the train is scheduled to be operational within 3–10 years.[20] In July 2021 the CRRC unveiled a four-car 600 km/h (370 mph) maglev train.[21] Long test tracks are being developed to test the vehicles.
Railway links with adjoining countries
[edit]The two railway links China have with a neighboring country that does not have a break of gauge is with North Korea and Vietnam. China also has links with Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, which all use the 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) gauge, and with Vietnam, where the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge is still in use. The Trans-Siberian Railway, which crosses Russia, has a branch that sweeps down from Ulan-Ude, across Mongolia, and on to Beijing.
China does not have a direct rail link with Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan or Tajikistan, but is currently planning links with Laos and India (via Myanmar).
Variable-gauge-axle trains are sometimes used to overcome the break of gauge with neighboring countries. The mainland is also linked to Hong Kong, but not with Macau, although a Macau link is planned.
Urban Rail
[edit]Rapid Transit
[edit]Currently there over 30 rapid transit systems in mainland China. A further 12 systems are under construction and 20 more metros are planned. Today China boasts the world's longest, second and third longest metro systems.[22][23][24] The Shanghai Metro only started operating in 1993 and has since expanded to be the world's longest subway system.[22][23][25] Of the top 15 longest metro systems in the world 8 of them are in China, also possessing half of the top ten busiest metro systems in the world.[26] As of January 2016, 39 cities have metro systems approved according to the National Development and Reform Commission. China plans to spend 4.7 trillion yuan ($706 billion) on transport infrastructure in the three years following 2016.[27] As of early 2017, China has 5636.5 km of under construction rail transit lines.[28]
Light Rail/Tram
[edit]Several cities in China had tram systems during the 20th century; however, by the end of the century, only Dalian, Hong Kong and Changchun remained. Since 2010, then new tram systems opened in Qingdao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Suzhou, Zhuhai, and Huai'an.
In 2016 a Chinese firm developed the Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit system which has been described as a crossover between a train, a bus and a tram and is commonly called a "trackless tram".[29] As of 2021 the system has four lines in operation and is being considered for a number of other locations around the country.
Monorail
[edit]China has installed a number of straddle-type rubber-tyred monorail systems since 2005. The longest monorail line in the world, at 66.2 km (41.1 mi), is Line 3 located in Chongqing. A large number of other transit systems are under construction, as well as tourist lines using suspended monorail technology.
Suburban and commuter rail systems
[edit]China's passenger railways are mostly used for medium- and long-distance travel, with few trains stopping anywhere but at major stations in center cities. Commuter rail systems, characteristic of large European and North American cities, were initially uncommon in China. Instead radial suburban metro lines (Shanghai Metro Line 16, Binhai Mass Transit Line 9, Guangfo Metro, etc.) were mostly fulfilling that role. However a number of high-speed regional networks such as the Chengdu–Dujiangyan ICR, Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan ICR, Pearl River Delta Rapid Transit, and Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway have recently started providing commuter services.
Rail Transit in the special administrative regions
[edit]Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway was planned, designed, constructed and opened under British administration; it was opened in 1979 and merged with the KCR network in 2007 to form a 10-line heavy metro operation and a modern light rail network. In addition, a tramway system operates on Hong Kong Island.
The Macau LRT was first proposed in 2003, but a final go-ahead was not given until a public announcement by the Government of Macau in October 2006. The Macau Light Transit System will serve the Macau Peninsula, Taipa island, Cotai reclamation area and Macau International Airport.
Road
[edit]Motor vehicles
[edit]During the war with Japan, in the 1930s, China built many roads, the most famous of which is the Burma Road that leads southwest from Kunming to the city of Lashio. Since it came into power, the Communist government initiated a large effort into building highways that extend across China and beyond its borders.
Today, China is linked by an evolving network of highways (China National Highways) and expressways (Expressways of China). In the past few years, China has been rapidly developing its road network. Between 1990 and 2003, the total length of urban roads in China more than doubled; increasing from 95,000 to 208,000 kilometers of roads during that period. Similarly, during the same period of time, the total area allocated to roads more than tripled; from 892 million square meters in 1990, to 3,156.5 million square meters in 2003.[30] China National Highways stretch to all four corners of mainland China. Expressways reach the same destinations as China National Highways, except for the rugged terrain of Tibet. An expressway link is already at the planning stage.
Highways (totaling 130,000 km) were critical to China's economic growth as it worked to mitigate a poor distribution network and authorities sought to spur economic activity directly. The highway and road systems carried nearly 11.6 billion tons of freight and 769.6 trillion passenger/kilometers in 2003.
The importance of highways and motor vehicles, which carry 13.5% of cargo and 49.1% of passengers, was growing rapidly in the mid-2000s. Automobile usage has increased significantly in urban areas as incomes rise. However, car ownership is still low in comparison to the other members of the BRIC group of countries, being exceeded by Russia and Brazil.[31] Indeed, the rate of car ownership in China is only expected to meet the 1960s level of car ownership of some developed countries in 2015.[32]
In 2002, excluding military and probably internal security vehicles, there were 12 million passenger cars and buses in operation and 8.1 million other vehicles. In 2003 China reported that 23.8 million vehicles were used for business purposes, including 14.8 million passenger vehicles and 8.5 million trucks. The latest statistics from the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau show that Beijing had nearly 1.3 million privately owned cars at the end of 2004 or 11 for each 100 Beijing residents. Beijing currently has the highest annual rate of private car growth in China, leading to major congestion in the capital.
In 2005 China had a total road network of more than 3.3 million km, although approximately 1.47 million km of this network are classified as "village roads". Paved roads totaled 770,265 km (478,620 mi) in 2004; the remainder were gravel, improved earth standard, or merely earth tracks.
Some 270,000 km (167,770 mi) of rural highways will be built and upgraded in 2008. By comparison, 423,000 km (262,840 mi) of countryside highways were built or upgraded in 2007, a record high. According to China's Transport Ministry, as of the end of 2007, 98.54 percent of villages and towns had already been connected by highways.
The 2008 construction plan comprises five north–south highway trunk roads and seven east–west trunk roads and eight inter-provincial roads. Meanwhile, the central and local governments have continued to allocate funds to support the countryside highway build-up and step up construction quality supervision.[33]
By the end of 2010, the total length of all public roads in China reached 3,984,000 km,[34] with about 97,000 km (60,273 mi) of expressways by the end of 2012. All major cities are expected to be linked with a 108,000 km (67,108 mi) inter-provincial expressway system by 2020.[35]
Motor vehicles safety
[edit]RTA fatalities are vulnerable users (68%), including motorcycle, pedestrian and NMW.[36]
Vehicle is in cause in 17% of road fatalities.[36]
Fatalities are 497 for 8.2 million inhabitants in Hainan, and 9959 for 83 million people in Guangdong in 2005.[37]