China’s railway investment reached a record high in 2025 despite ongoing concerns about overexpansion and operational losses in the country’s high-speed rail network. The China State Railway Group announced that national railway fixed asset investment totaled 901.5 billion yuan (approximately $124 billion) in 2025, representing a 6 percent year-on-year increase and surpassing all previous years.
The 2025 figure marks a significant milestone in China’s railway development trajectory. From 2021 to 2024, annual investments ranged from 710.9 billion to 850.6 billion yuan (approximately $98 billion to $117 billion), while the 2016-2020 period saw investments mostly hovering between 801 billion and 802.9 billion yuan (approximately $110 billion to $111 billion), except for 2020’s 781.9 billion yuan (approximately $108 billion).
In 2025, China opened 3,109 kilometers (1,931 miles) of new railway lines, with high-speed rail accounting for 2,862 kilometers (1,778 miles). This expansion brought the nation’s total railway network to 165,000 kilometers (102,526 miles). Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, described the investment as a strategic cornerstone for economic stability and a catalyst for unlocking domestic consumption potential.
However, this expansion comes at a significant financial cost. According to Ming Pao‘s recent report, the China State Railway Group’s total debt reached 6.2 trillion yuan (approximately $855 billion) by the end of 2024, with a debt ratio of 63.52 percent. Only a handful of routes connecting economically developed and densely populated areas—including the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Tianjin, Shanghai-Hangzhou, Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong lines—are profitable, representing merely 5 percent of the country’s total high-speed rail network. Additionally, at least 26 high-speed railway stations were reportedly idle due to remote locations, inadequate surrounding facilities, and low passenger traffic.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), January 4, 2026
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