(Yicai) Dec. 27 -- China is expected to put more than 2,500 kilometers of high-speed rail lines into operation this year, the highest figure in the past four years, according to the latest official data.

Three new high-speed railway lines including the one from Chengdu to Yibin in Sichuan province, as well as super-high-speed railway hub Baiyun Station in Guangzhou, started operation on Dec. 26, according to an announcement by China State Railway Group. Two other high-speed lines opened today, including one connecting the port city of Fangchenggang in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Dongxing, a city on the border between China and Vietnam.

The total mileage of this year's newly operated high-speed railways exceeded the 2,082 km of last year, reversing a downward trend that started in 2020. The six years between 2014 and 2019 were a peak period for the completion and commissioning of high-speed rail lines, with over 4,000 km coming into operation each year, except for 2016 and 2017, when only 2,000 km were opened. In 2019, a record high of 5,474 km of high-speed railways were put into operation.

Eight Chinese provincial-level regions had more than 2,000 km of high-speed rail lines in operation by the end of last year, Yicai learned from local government data. Eastern Anhui ranked first with 2,522 km.

With new high-speed rail lines coming on stream this year, three more provincial-level regions -- Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Fujian provinces -- will exceed the 2,000 km milestone, while Shandong province will surpass 2,800 km, topping its neighbor Anhui to become the provincial-level region with the longest high-speed rail lines.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione