China News Service, March 29. According to news from China Government Network on the 29th, the General Office of the State Council forwarded the "Notice on Further Doing a Good Job in Railway Planning and Construction" by the National Development and Reform Commission and other units.

The notice pointed out that the construction of parallel lines of existing high-speed railways shall be strictly controlled. If the utilization rate of the existing high-speed railways is less than 80%, new parallel lines shall not be built in principle.

  The notice clarified that by 2035, the railway network layout structure will be more optimized and perfect, and the scale of railway debt and debt level will be within a reasonable range, which will take the lead in accelerating the construction of a strong transportation country and provide strong support for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.

Data map: High-speed rail.

Photo by Li Wenwei

Strengthen planning guidance

  The notice proposes that in accordance with the needs of national economic and social development and military-civilian integration, comprehensive consideration of the relationship between railways and highways, water transportation, civil aviation, and urban transportation, strengthen the overall connection with land and space planning and regional development planning, and scientifically formulate railway development plans to form stratification Classification and functional complementary planning system.

  The national railway development plan includes the medium and long-term railway development plan and the five-year railway development plan.

The medium and long-term railway planning mainly clarifies the development strategy, network framework, channel functions, etc., determines the spatial layout of infrastructure, and leaves room for the long-term development of the railway.

The five-year railway development plan mainly clarifies the development tasks, project arrangements, construction standards, etc., and arranges the phased work of railway planning and construction.

The national-level railway development plan should rationally lay out modern comprehensive transportation hubs, optimize the structure of high-speed railways and normal-speed railways, and promote the coordinated development of passenger and freight transportation.

Accelerate the introduction of railways into ports, logistics parks and large industrial and mining enterprises, and promote the transfer of bulk and medium- and long-distance cargo transportation to railways.

Strictly control the construction of parallel lines of existing high-speed railways. In principle, no new parallel lines shall be built if the utilization rate of the existing high-speed railways is less than 80%.

New railway projects must be implemented in strict accordance with the plan approved by the state. Projects in the plan shall not be arbitrarily adjusted in terms of function positioning, construction sequence and construction standards. In principle, projects that are not listed in the plan shall not be started.

  In accordance with national-level railway development plans and the principle of demand-oriented and benefit-oriented, all localities shall compile inter-city, urban (suburban) and other regional railway development plans and submit them for approval in accordance with procedures.

Establish and improve the planning and management mechanism for railway construction, and scientifically demonstrate the timing and plan of project construction.

Strengthen communication and coordination with national railway enterprises, and coordinate the promotion of multi-network integration, resource sharing, and payment compatibility for arterial railways, intercity railways, urban (suburban) railways, and urban rail transit, and achieve mutual trust in security and ticketing systems as soon as possible on qualified lines.

It is strictly forbidden to construct subways and light rails in disguised form in the name of newly built intercity railways and urban (suburban) railways.

Reasonably set standards

  The notice also proposes that the planned construction of the main high-speed rail line that runs through provincial capitals and mega-cities, has a recent two-way passenger flow density of more than 25 million passengers per year, and a medium-to-long-distance passenger flow of more than 70%, can adopt the standard of 350 kilometers per hour.

It is planned to build high-speed rail lines connecting large-scale cities above the prefecture level, the recent two-way passenger flow density of more than 20 million passengers per year, and the prominent function of the road network. The conditions of 350 kilometers per hour can be reserved.

It is planned to construct a high-speed rail regional connection line with a two-way passenger flow density of 15 million or more per year in the near future, and the speed of 250 kilometers per hour can be adopted.

In the planning and construction of intercity railway lines, in principle, the speed of 200 kilometers per hour and below shall be adopted.

In addition, the planned construction of new railway lines in the blank areas of the road network in the central and western regions generally adopts the standard of passenger and freight co-tracking.

Relevant units should strengthen the demonstration and review of technical indicators such as passenger flow density, and be held accountable for data fraud and other acts in accordance with laws and regulations.

  High-speed railways must be operated as quickly as possible in accordance with the design standards after operation. Normal-speed railways must make full use of channel resources, increase cargo transportation capacity and the proportion of container multimodal transportation. Railways with surplus resources can appropriately operate intercity trains and trains in a market-oriented manner. Urban (suburban) trains.

Classification and hierarchical construction

  Arterial railways are jointly funded by the central and local governments. China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. plays a major role and is responsible for project construction and operation. Projects with better expected benefits should actively attract social capital to participate.

Intercity railways, urban (suburban) railways, branch railways, and special railway lines are mainly funded by relevant localities and enterprises, and project owners can choose their own construction and operation methods.

China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. shall provide project owners with convenient conditions for handling the connection procedures with national railways, carry out evaluations and demonstrations in a timely manner, and complete the connection procedures before the start of construction.

Effectively control the cost

  Strictly check the review of railway construction projects, do in-depth and detailed preliminary work, strengthen technical and economic comparisons, and reasonably determine construction standards, scope of expropriation and demolition, and compensation standards. In addition to major national strategic needs, it is necessary to meet the requirements of financial balance and avoid blind comparisons , Over-advanced or redundant construction.

Strengthen project management, encourage the use of autonomous technology and equipment, optimize construction organization, and strictly prohibit unauthorized increase in construction content, raise standards, or expand scale. If it is necessary to increase the central government’s funding, the relevant approval procedures must be implemented.

Significant changes in the functional positioning and construction standards of newly built intercity railways, urban (suburban) railways, etc., or the line length, direct engineering costs (excluding price increases), etc., have increased by more than 20% compared with the construction plan, the construction plan shall be implemented Adjustment Program.

Innovative investment and financing system

  Fully open the railway construction and operation market, deepen the reform of the railway investment and financing system, and promote the reform of railway enterprises' shareholding system and the listing of high-quality assets step by step.

Formulate open, transparent, fair and reasonable road network usage, station services, entrusted transportation and other cost clearing and income distribution rules to ensure the overall allocation and fair sharing of road network resources, and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of investors to participate in project decision-making, construction, and operation.

Draw lessons from the urban rail transit development model and strengthen the comprehensive land development. Existing developable land can be changed in accordance with laws and regulations, and revitalization can be accelerated through transfer, leasing, etc. The newly-added railway comprehensive development land should follow the national land and space planning and unified planning with urban construction. , Coordinated construction and coordinated management.

Prevent and resolve debt risks

  Properly handle existing debts and strictly control new debts.

Increase the source of capital for railway construction through multiple channels to ensure that the equity capital ratio of railway projects in the central and western regions is not less than 50% in principle.

China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. must make good use of the railway construction fund and increase its funding capacity.

Innovate railway bond issuance methods, increase the proportion of direct debt financing, and effectively reduce financing costs.

Further straighten out the railway freight rate system, improve the passenger fare floating mechanism, and improve the freight rate formation mechanism.

All localities should better give play to the role of local government special bonds, drive social capital investment, and ensure reasonable financing needs for railway projects.

Relevant state departments should further adjust the investment structure within the central budget and increase support for railway projects in the central and western regions.

The national railway projects involving Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai Shezang prefectures and counties, southern Xinjiang, and key border areas are mainly funded by the central government in principle.

Scientific research defines the scope of railway public welfare transportation and establishes accounting and subsidy mechanisms.

Establish and improve the railway debt risk monitoring and early warning mechanism, strengthen the review of local project funding capabilities and operational loss compensation capabilities, and reasonably control railway construction in areas with heavier debt burdens and beyond the financial capacity.

  All regions and relevant units must earnestly implement the requirements of these opinions, strengthen planning connection, policy coordination, resource coordination, strengthen linkage and coordination, form a joint force, and jointly promote the high-quality development of railways.

The National Development and Reform Commission has established a sound working mechanism with relevant departments and units such as the Ministry of Transport, the National Railway Administration, and China National Railway Group Co., Ltd., continues to carry out follow-up supervision, and organizes phase assessments in a timely manner.