China to steadily boost railway construction

BEIJING -- China's top economic planner has pledged more efforts to steadily promote railway construction, stressing prioritizing the progress of key projects.

Efforts will be made to speed up the construction of major projects including the Sichuan-Tibet Railway and the high-speed railway along the Yangtze River, the National Development and Reform Commission said Tuesday in a statement on its website.

Railway construction in central and western regions of the country will be strengthened and the inter-city rail projects will be advanced in an orderly manner, it said.

The commission stressed equal importance of advancing the passenger and cargo rail transport.

China's railway operation mileage reached 139,000 km by the end of last year, with 35,000 km of high-speed railways. The country plans to expand the railway network by more than 4,000 km in 2020.