BEIJING, Sept. 2 -- The development of China's railway network will include
the construction of 548 railway stations within the 11th Five-Year Plan period
(2006-10), a senior official from the Ministry of Railways, said yesterday.
"Twenty-eight new stations have already been completed, 58 are under
construction and 210 are in the design stage," Zheng Jian, the ministry's deputy
chief engineer, told China Daily.
Last month, Beijing South - the largest in the country - and Tianjin
railway stations opened for business at the two ends of a new high-speed
intercity service, he said.
In the coming years, as more high-speed routes are added, the ministry
plans to develop six passenger transport hubs - Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan,
Guangzhou, Xi'an and Chengdu - and 10 regional hubs, with local railway stations
upgraded to deal with the increased numbers of travelers, he said.
But it is not only the hubs that are looking to upgrade their facilities,
Zheng said.
In Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, for example, plans have been
drawn up to build a station with 30 platforms, more than at Beijing South, he
said.
Local governments have realized that their existing railway stations are
too small to satisfy the demands brought about by rapid economic development, he
said.
"Cities like Hangzhou and Nanjing know that being linked to the high-speed
rail network will have a hugely positive impact on their economies, and that is
why they want to build big stations, Zheng said.
"However, we will continue to stress that while the construction of large
railway stations is fine, they must adhere to the basic principles of economy
and not be overly lavish in their decoration," he said.
One Beijing woman said he was pleased to see all the new railway stations
being built in the capital.
"Railway stations are no longer shabby or overcrowded like they used to
be," commuter Zhang Tao said yesterday.
"They are more like airports," she said.
Under the Ministry of Railways' mid- to long-term plan, the nationwide,
high-speed rail network will be extended to 12,000 km by 2020.
(Source: China Daily)
