ADB to help China draw up railway system reforms

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday said it would conduct a study to help China draw up a policy reform plan for the country's railway passenger and freight transport through a technical assistance grant of 400,000 U.S. dollars.

The ADB said in a statement that although the passenger and freight transport has continued to grow rapidly over the last two decades, reaching 9 percent and 7.4 percent respectively between 1978 and 2004, China's railway system has lost ground to other modes of transport.

"In recent years, despite significant progress and notable achievements, China's railways have been unable to meet the increasing demand for passenger and freight transportation," says Manmohan Parkash, an ADB Transport Specialist.

To remove constraints facing the railways system and to expand the network, the Chinese government has, under its five-year plan for 2001-2005, envisaged building some 6,000 km of new lines to previously unserved areas, providing 3,000 km of double lines, electrifying 5,000 km of key lines to boost capacity, and increasing operating speeds on 5,000 km of lines, the bank said.

According to the ADB, during 2003-2007, investments in capital construction for the Chinese railways sector are expected to reach 450 billion Yuan (about 55.8 billion U.S. dollars).

"Given the enormous investment requirements and the need for a sound administrative environment, ADB's new TA will help review the passenger and freight demand structure and assist in preparing a reform plan to meet these challenges," Parkash said.

The bank said that the study will look at the conflicting roles of meeting social obligations and making profits, competition with other transport modes, and the impacts of urbanization and economic development on transport.

It will also look at the possibility of innovative passenger and freight transport projects or products to enhance the competitiveness of the railway sector and improve customer satisfaction, it added.

Source: Xinhua