China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. China Railway operates passenger and freight transport throughout China with 18 regional subsidiaries. By September 2022, the total assets of China Railway Group are CNY 9.06 trillion (USD 1.24 trillion). China has the highest railway usage in the world.

History

China Railway Corporation was established in 2013 to be responsible for railroad construction, operation, and maintenance. Under the Chinese Corporate Law, China Railway Corporation was reorganized into China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. on 18 June 2019. This meant the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

would act as an investor on behalf of the state and the company would be led by a board and managed by board-chosen executives. By the end of 2019, China Railway employed 2 million people and operated 139,900 km of railroads, of which 35,388 are high-speed railroads.

Passenger services

China Railway operates two main types of passenger rail services. Tickets for both types of trains are sold offline at ticket offices, and online at China Railway's official online booking website, 12306.cn, and its associated mobile app, ''Railway 12306'' (with both a Chinese interface and an English interface for use by foreigners). As of May 2025, 12306.cn (and its app) is the only official online platform authorized to sell China Railway tickets.

China Railway High-speed (CRH)

China Railway High-speed (CRH) is a

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

service operated by

China Railway China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

. The introduction of CRH series was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup, implemented on April 18, 2007. By the end of 2020, China Railway High-speed provided service to all provinces in China, and operated just under passenger tracks in length, accounting for about two-thirds of the world's high-speed rail tracks in commercial service. China has revealed plans to extend the HSR to 70,000 km by year 2035. It is the world's most extensively used railway service, with 2.29 billion bullet train trips delivered in 2019 and 2.16 billion trips in 2020, bringing the total cumulative number of trips to 13 billion as of 2020. Over 1000 sets of

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

are operated under the CRH brand including Hexie

CRH1 The CRH1 electric multiple unit, EMU, also known as Hexie (train), Hexie (), is a High-speed rail, high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transportation and Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock, ...

/ 2A/ 5 that are designed to have a maximum speed of , and CRH2C/ 3 have a maximum speed of . The indigenous designed CRH380A have a maximum test speed of with commercial operation speed of 350 km/h. The fastest train set, CRH380BL, attained a maximum test speed of . In 2017, the China Standardized EMU brand including CR400AF/BF and CR200J joined China Railway High-speed and are designated as Fuxing together with letters CR (China Railway). With a gradual plan, the CR brand is going to replace the current CRH brand in service. China’s CRH380A Hexie developed by CSR Corporation Limited. it is designed to operate comfortably at a speed of 350 km/h (217 mph) and a maximum speed of 380 km/h (236 mph),it is also the fastest train in the world. During testing it also reached 486.1 km/h (302.0 mph). Depending on their speed, there are 3 categories of high speed trains, G, D and C (G and some C being the fastest at 350 km/h, D having a speed of 250 km/h and C having a speed of 200 km/h).

China Railway Classic Rail

The China Railway Classic Rail network (), also known as conventional rail, forms the backbone of China Railway's railway system alongside the high-speed rail (HSR) network. These traditional railway lines operate at speeds below 160 km/h (99 mph) and serve a dual role in transporting both passengers and freight. Unlike the high-speed CRH (China Railway High-speed) services, which primarily use dedicated electrified tracks, Classic Rail consists of older lines that may be

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

double-tracked Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

, with varying degrees of

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

. Historically, all Classic Rail trains were olive-green, leading to the nickname " green train" () to be used by laypeople. Since 2014, most Classic Rail trains that had other colours (white, red, blue) have been repainted olive-green. Classic Rail trains are also sometimes referred to as "slow trains" in English. Classic Rail trains have significantly lower ticket prices compared to CRH trains and are a popular choice with travellers on a budget.

Logo

The China Railway logo was designed by Chen Yuchang ( zh, 陈玉昶) (1912–1969), officially adopted on 22 January 1950. The whole logo represents the front of a locomotive. The upper part of the logo represents the Chinese character 人 (people), while the lower part represents the transversal surface of a rail. The logo means that China's railway belongs to the people. The lower part represents the character 工 (labour), means that China's railway belongs to the working class. The "CR" logo is used on the

Fuxing (train) Fuxing ( zh, s=复兴号, t=復興號, p=Fùxīng Hào, l=Rejuvenation), also known as the CR series EMU (or as the Fuxing Hao), is a series of high-speed and higher-speed EMU trains operated by China Railway High-speed (CRH) and developed ...

along with the China Railway logo. The "CRH" logo is used on the

Hexie (train) Hexie (), also known as the CRH series EMU, is an umbrella term for the multiple unit High-speed rail, high-speed and Higher-speed rail, higher-speed trains operated by China Railway under the China Railway High-speed brand. All series of Hexie ...

Companies

There are 21 primary subsidiary companies under China Railway. As of 2008, approximately two million people work in China Railway.

Second tier subsidiaries

Corporate affairs

Business trends

The key trends for the China Railway are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):

International operations

International trains

China Railway operates passenger trains from China to Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Vietnam and Laos. Also operates freight (cargo) trains to these countries. File:Beijing to Pyongyang train.jpg, The

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

–

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

passenger train with the emblem of China File:Beijing UlaanBaatar Moscow Train.jpg, The Beijing–

UlaanBaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

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Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

passenger train File:2021-12-03 China-Laos-Eisenbahn.jpg, The Kunming South–

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

passenger train There are 11 international passenger train services: * 95/8,

Dandong Dandong ( zh, s=丹东 , t=丹東 , p=Dāndōng; lit. "Red East"), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest ...

–

* 401/2, Suifenhe–Grodekovo * K3/4,

–

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

–

* K19/20, Beijing–(

Manzhouli Manzhouli ( zh, s=满洲里; ; ) is a sub-prefectural city located in Hulunbuir prefecture-level city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Located on the border with Russia, it is a major land port of entry. It has an area of and a populat ...

)–Moscow * K23/4, Beijing–Ulaanbaatar * K27/8, Beijing–Pyongyang * K4651/2/3/4,

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...

–Ulaanbaatar * K9795/6,

Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...

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Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

* K9797/8, Ürümqi–

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

* Z5/6–T8701/2, Beijing West–

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

(transfer station)– Gia Lâm (Hanoi) * D85/86, Kunming South—

* D87/88,

Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

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Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

Services to Europe (New Silk Route)

China Railway ran

goods In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs ...

services to 15 European cities, including routes to Madrid and Hamburg and the experimental East Wind service to London to test demand. The Chinese government refers to the two-week route, starting at

Yiwu Yiwu () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua, in central Zhejiang province, China. It is best known for hosting the Yiwu International Trade City, the world’s largest wholesale market for small commodities. History Y ...

and with trains to London traversing Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France, as the

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

Containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

must be transferred several times, as different, incompatible,

rail gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge dif ...

s are used in different regions, and the same

cannot be used throughout.

Africa

China has been investing in and helping to rebuild railways in Africa. Below is an incomplete list of rail projects.

List of directors general

China Railway Corporation

Sheng Guangzu Sheng Guangzu ( zh, c=盛光祖, p=Shèng Guāngzǔ; born 5 April 1949) was the last Chinese Minister of Railways, before the position was abolished in March 2013, and the first General Manager of China Railway Corporation. He was formerly the he ...

(2013–2016) * Lu Dongfu (2016–2018)

China State Railway Group

Chairman

* Lu Dongfu (2018–2022) * Liu Zhenfang (2022–present)

General Manager

* Yang Yudong (2018–2022) * Guo Zhuxue (2022–present)

Footnotes

References

External links

*
The official ticketing website for China Railway－12306.cn
{{authority control Railway companies of China Companies based in Beijing Chinese companies established in 2013 Railway companies established in 2013 Chinese brands Government-owned companies of China Government-owned railway companies