(Yicai) Sept. 29 -- China plans to open 10 more high-speed railway lines in the fourth quarter, bringing the national network to over 50,000 kilometers and keeping the country on track to meet the goals set in its 14th Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2021 to 2025.

More than 2,700 km of new track will come into service this year. Yesterday, two more bullet train lines opened in northeastern Liaoning and central Hubei provinces, and another was launched in the southwest of the country near the municipality of Chongqing earlier in the year.

At the start of the year, the China State Railway Group said that it aimed to put 2,600 km of new lines into operation in 2025 and to achieve CNY590 billion (USD82.8 billion) in infrastructure spending so as to fully complete the national railway investment plan.

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan for transportation set a target of 165,000 km of operating rail by the end of 2025, of which 50,000 km would be high-speed rail. With the current progress, that goal will be successfully met.

Eastern Shandong province had 3,047 km of bullet train lines last year, the most in the country. But this year, southern Guangdong province is expected to oust Shandong to claim the top spot with over 3,300 km of track.

Guangdong province aims to have 6,500 km of operating railway by the end of this year, including 3,600 km of high-speed rail, according to the province’s 14th Five-Year Plan.

Editor: Kim Taylor