China will spend approximately CNY2.8 trillion (US$437 billion) on the construction of at least 23,000km of new railway lines over the next five years, it has been reported.

According to China’s Economic Information Daily, the government’s latest five-year plan, which runs from 2016 to 2020, will focus on the expansion of railways in China’s central and western regions, as well as new inter-city projects.

While few specific details were revealed, the report did confirm plans for 4,600km of new track in northern China’s Shaanxi province.

However the five-year investment would mark a decrease compared to China’s most recent five-year plan, which targeted CNY3.5 trillion worth of railway investment between 2011 and 2015.

Source from Travel Daily Asia