Aerial photo taken on March 6, 2022 shows the two-lane Lagan Grand Bridge of the Guiyang-Nanning high-speed railway in southwest China's Guizhou Province.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

China opened 233 kilometers of new high-speed rail in the first quarter of 2022, with progress being made on the preliminary work of key projects linking Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, China Railway said over the weekend.

Meanwhile, first-quarter fixed-asset investment in the rail sector grew 3.1 percent year-on-year to 106.5 billion yuan ($16.73 billion), and 447 kilometers of new rail lines were opened over the period, data from the national rail operator showed.

The head of the development and reform department of China Railway said that infrastructure investment in the rail sector outperformed its target and progress has been made with key projects, according to a press release the group sent to the Global Times.

Since the start of construction of all the sections of the Sichuan-Xizang Railway at the end of 2021, the first quarter witnessed the peak of construction, according to the official. 

The construction of sections connecting Ya'an and Xinduqiao in Sichuan and Bomi and Nyingchi in Xizang is being carried out at full capacity, while a key project linking Xinduqiao and Bomi is making progress in an orderly fashion.

Projects such as a high-speed rail line linking Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Taizhou in East China's Zhejiang Province and a railway connecting Aksu and Aral in Xinjiang entered service during the first quarter.

As for the problem of inadequate rail links in China's western regions, progress has been made with the preliminary work of key railway projects connecting Xizang and Xinjiang, said the China Railway official.

According to the group, it will actively respond to the country's development strategies, earnestly implement the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for the rail sector and promote the planning and construction of key projects like the Sichuan-Xizang Railway and those in coastal areas, so as to ensure the achievement of fixed-asset investment goals.

The group plans to build 3,300 kilometers of new rail tracks in 2022, around 1,900 kilometers of which will serve trains operating at normal speed, meaning the company will add 1,400 kilometers of high-speed rail tracks this year.

As of the end of 2021, the total operating length of the country's high-speed railway network had exceeded 40,000 kilometers.