Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0083/00839.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 34KB | 530 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00839}
$Pretitle{260}
$Title{China
Chapter 8B.   Transportation}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Roxane D. V. Sismanidis and Ernestine H. Wang}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{china
kilometers
transportation
china's
million
lines
telecommunications
beijing
system
construction}
$Date{1989}
$Log{}
Country:     China
Book:        China, A Country Study
Author:      Roxane D. V. Sismanidis and Ernestine H. Wang
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1989

Chapter 8B.   Transportation

     Transportation is a major factor in China's national economy. For most of
the period since 1949, however, transportation occupied a relatively low
priority in China's national development. Inadequate transportation systems
hindered the movement of coal from mine to user, the transportation of
agricultural and light industrial products from rural to urban areas, and the
delivery of imports and exports. As a result, the underdeveloped transportation
system constrained the pace of economic development throughout the country. In
the 1980s the updating of transportation systems was given priority, and
improvements were made throughout the transportation sector (see fig. 15.)

     In 1986 China's transportation system consisted of long-distance hauling by
railroads and inland waterways and medium-distance and rural transportation by
trucks and buses on national and provincial-level highways. Waterborne
transportation dominated freight traffic in east, central, and southwest China,
along the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) and its tributaries, and in Guangdong
Province and Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region, served by the Zhu Jiang (Pearl
River) system. All provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities,
with the exception of Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibet), were linked by
railroads. Many double-track lines, electrified lines, special lines, and
bridges were added to the system. Subways were operating in Beijing and Tianjin,
and construction was being planned in other large cities. National highways
linked provincial-level capitals with Beijing and major ports. Roads were built
between large, medium, and small towns as well as between towns and railroad
connections. The maritime fleet made hundreds of port calls in virtually all
parts of the world, but the inadequate port and harbor facilities at home still
caused major problems. Civil aviation underwent tremendous development during
the 1980s. Domestic and international air service was greatly increased. In 1985
the transportation system handled 2.7 billion tons of goods. Of this, the
railroads handled 1.3 billion tons; highways handled 762 million tons; inland
waterways handled 434 million tons; ocean shipping handled 65 million tons; and
civil airlines handled 195,000 tons. The 1985 volume of passenger traffic was
428 billion passenger-kilometers. Of this, railroad traffic accounted for 241.6
billion passenger-kilometers; road traffic, for 157.3 billion
passenger-kilometers; waterway traffic, for 17.4 billion passenger-kilometers;
and air traffic, for 11.7 billion passenger-kilometers.

     Ownership and control of the different elements of the transportation
system varied according to their roles and their importance in the national
economy. The railroads were owned by the state and controlled by the Ministry of
Railways. In 1986 a contract system for the management of railroad lines was
introduced in China. Five-year contracts were signed between the ministry and
individual railroad bureaus that were given responsibility for their profits and
losses. The merchant fleet was operated by the China Ocean Shipping Company
(COSCO), a state- owned enterprise. The national airline was run by the General
Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC). Regional airlines were run by
provincial-level and municipal authorities. Highways and inland waterways were
the responsibilities of the Ministry of Communications. Trucking and inland
navigation were handled by government-operated transportation departments as
well as by private enterprises.

     Transportation was designated a top priority in the Seventh Five-Year Plan
(1986-90). Under the plan, transportation-related projects accounted for 39 of
190 priority projects. Because most were long-term development projects, a large
number were carried over from 1985, and only a few new ones were added. The plan
called for an increase of approximately 30 percent in the volume of various
kinds of cargo transportation by 1990 over 1985 levels. So each mode of
transportation would have to increase its volume by approximately 5.4 percent
annually during the 5-year period. The plan also called for updating passenger
and freight transportation and improving railroad, waterways, and air
transportation. To achieve these goals, the government planned to increase state
and local investment as well as to use private funds.

 The Seventh Five-Year Plan gave top priority to increasing the capacity of
existing rail lines and, in particular, to improving the coal transportation
lines between Shanxi Province and other provincial-level units and ports and to
boosting total transportation capacity to 230 million tons by 1990. Other
targets were the construction of 3,600 kilometers of new rail lines, the
double-tracking of 3,300 kilometers of existing lines, and the electrification
of 4,000 kilometers of existing lines.

 Port construction also was listed as a priority project in the plan. The
combined accommodation capacity of ports was to be increased by 200 million
tons, as compared with 100 million tons under the Sixth Five-Year Plan
(1981-85). Priority also was given to highway construction. China planned to
build new highways and rebuild existing highways to a total length of 140,000
kilometers. At the end of the Seventh Five-Year Plan, the total length of
highways was to be increased to 1 million kilometers from the existing 940,000
kilometers. Air passenger traffic was to be increased by an average of 14.5
percent annually over the 5-year period, and air transportation operations were
to be decentralized. Existing airports were to be upgraded and new ones built.

Railroads

     China's first railroad line was built in 1876. In the 73 years that
followed, 22,000 kilometers of track were laid, but only half were operable in
1949. Between 1949 and 1985, more than 30,000 kilometers of lines were added to
the existing network, mostly in the southwest or coastal areas where previous
rail development had been concentrated. By 1984 China had 52,000 kilometers of
operating track, 4,000 kilometers of which had been electrified. All provinces,
autonomous regions, and special municipalities, with the exception of Xizang
Autonomous Region, were linked by rail. Many double-track lines, electric lines,
special lines, and railroad bridges were added to the system. Railroad
technology also was upgraded to improve the performance of the existing rail
network. There still were shortcomings, however. Most of the trunk lines were
old, there was a general shortage of double-track lines, and Chinese officials
admitted that antiquated management techniques still were being practiced. There
were plans in the late 1980s to upgrade the rail system, particularly in east
China, in the hope of improving performance.

China's railroads are heavily used. In 1986, the latest year for which
statistics were available, railroads carried 1 billion passengers and 1.3
billion tons of cargo. The average freight traffic density was 15 million tons
per route-kilometer, double that of the United States and three times that of
India. Turnaround time between freight car loadings averaged less than four
days.

     Between 1980 and 1985, China built about 3,270 kilometers of new track,
converted 1,581 kilometers to double track, and electrified 2,500 kilometers of
track. The total investment in this period amounted to over -Y21.4 billion (for
value of the yuan-see Glossary). Railroads accounted for over two-thirds of the
total ton-kilometers and over