Thematic Investments: China Railway
Rapid & Efficient Transportation Supports China's Ascent

   


Investment Rationale
  • The length of China’s rail network is planned to reach a total track length of 120'000 km under the current five-year plan, from 20'000 km in 1949.
    • The People’s Republic of China boasts the world’s third-longest railway network behind the USA and Russia. 
    • China is the only country in the world that has significantly expanded its railway infrastructure in recent years and is poised to build it out further in the future.
  • Rapid & efficient transportation systems underpin China’s social and economic development.
    • By the end of 2011, the People's Republic of China had a total urban population of 700 million or 53% of total population, rising from 26% in 1990.
      • The train is China's main means of transportation. With a population of just under 1.34 billion and a population density of 140/km², China is facing ever-growing transportation needs.
      • The massive ongoing rural exodus is a major challenge for China’s intercity transportation system.
    • Rapid economic growth requires efficient transportation systems. 
      • The expansion and rationalization of railways (dedicated freight lines) will boost China’s productivity by enabling raw materials and manufactured goods to reach their destination faster and more economically.
  • Expanding and upgrading its railway system allows China to address many of its transportation problems, as the rail offers speed, reliability, and cost efficiency (low per-unit transportation costs) on the largest scale possible.
    • Despite a temporary halt caused by the 2011 train wreck, the great railroad expansion will resume chugging forward as the social and economic significance of an efficient railway system is key for China's future
    • The government's goal is to dramatically increase the speed and efficiency of intercity links, while expanding the current railway network inland to Western countries, therefore creating new efficient trade routes.
    • The expansion and building of railroad infrastructure is likely to give companies operating in the railway industry full order books in the years ahead.
    • Alongside rail construction companies, rolling stock manufacturers and maintenance, transport and technology firms can also partake in the government’s expansion plans.
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