In this aerial photo, a high-speed train runs on the bridge above fields in Binyang County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

China's construction of railways has kept its momentum with as many as 20 rail projects entering their construction stage since September, which is expected to bolster the country's economic growth.

Experts said that the rail projects, in addition to improving transport efficiency among cities, will play a role in boosting industrial chains connected to rail construction.

There were as many as 20 railway projects under construction as of late September with the number surpassing 30 if new rail projects due to start before the end of this year are included, with an estimated total investment of 1.4 trillion yuan, adding more than 8,000 kilometers of new rail mileage, according to media reports. 

According to the financial accounts for the third quarter disclosed by China National Railway Group Co, the national railway fixed asset investment in the first nine months hit 475 billion yuan.

"There exists a big space for further improvement of the country's railway network, especially when it comes to inter-city rail links, which will alleviate traffic jam in large Chinese cities while boost the economic development in the surrounding regions," Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, told the paper.cn on Wednesday that in the context of phasing in strong transportation, infrastructure projects are being accelerated nationwide, particularly in the fourth quarter of 2022, the report said.

The Jiangsu section of the Beiyanjiang high-speed railway, which started construction in September, with the planned length of 365 kilometers, is budged at 116.4 billion yuan, the single rail project being built with the largest investment. 

The Beiyanjiang line will travel westward along the Yangtze River, linking Shanghai with Chengdu, passing through cities like Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province and Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

In the first three quarters this year, railway development remained steady and progress was made. Data from China National Railway Group shows that the national railway fixed asset investment completed 475 billion yuan to date this year, and the progress was 1.8 percentage points higher than the same period last year, and in total 2,381 kilometers of new railways were put into operation.