China’s High-Speed Rail Network Accelerates World’s Largest Annual Human Migration, Financial Times Reports

China’s High-Speed Rail Network Accelerates World’s Largest Annual Human Migration, Financial Times Reports
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The British newspaper Financial Times has reported that China’s high-speed rail network is playing a major role in accelerating the world’s largest annual human migration during the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of people travel across the country.

According to the report, China’s rail system has been transporting around 20 million passengers per day in recent days, with nearly half a billion train journeys expected over the 40-day Lunar New Year travel period. The movement is considered the largest annual migration globally, as millions of workers return from coastal and urban centers to their hometowns to celebrate the country’s most important holiday.

The newspaper noted that the pace of travel has increased significantly due to the widespread use of high-speed trains, which now carry around three-quarters of rail passengers at speeds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour.

The report highlighted the rapid expansion of China’s high-speed rail infrastructure, which reached a total length of about 50,000 kilometers as of December last year—enough to circle the Earth. By comparison, the high-speed rail network in the European Union totaled approximately 8,500 kilometers in 2023. China’s network now connects 97 percent of cities with populations of more than 500,000, underscoring the scale of its transport development.

The system is cited as an example of state-led technological progress, characterized by high speeds, punctuality, and digital ticketing platforms that monitor demand and add extra carriages during peak periods. China’s first high-speed rail line opened in 2003 between Qinhuangdao and Shenyang at speeds of 200 kilometers per hour. Estimates from the World Bank in 2019 put construction costs at between $17 million and $21 million per kilometer.