Technicians inspect Fuxing bullet trains at a maintenance center in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec 26, 2022. Photo:China News Service

 
China Railway on Monday issued a number of procurement orders following a pick-up in travel demand and traffic flow as China’s economy rebounds from the epidemic.

The orders include the purchase of 103 Fuxing high-speed trains, 30,000 cargo trains and 483 standard locomotives, according to a filing issued by the group.

The orders are worth about 50 billion yuan ($7.02 billion), the largest amount since 2020, the 21st Business Herald reported, citing insiders from the railway industry. It is estimated that more orders will follow.

The Fuxing high-speed train runs at up to 350 kilometers per hour. This order marks the group’s first large-scale bullet train purchase since 2019, according to media reports.

China's railway passenger flow surged during the May Day holiday travel rush. From April 27 to May 4, 133 million railway passenger trips were made nationwide, 27.94 million more than during the May Day holidays in 2019, said China Railway. 

The number of daily passenger trips on China's railways reached 19.66 million on April 29, a new record high for single-day passenger traffic.

In 2023, the national railway system is expected to bring more than 3,000 kilometers of new lines into operation, including 2,500 kilometers of high-speed railway.

Rapid growth in railway traffic has also led to higher investment. During the January to April period, the national railway completed fixed-asset investment of 167.4 billion yuan, an increase of 6.29 percent, a record for the period.

In a meeting on May 23, the Ministry of Transport stressed the need to expand effective investment in railways, keeping railway fixed asset investment stable and optimizing the layout, function and structure of railway infrastructure.