COMMUNIST CHINA: EXPANSION OF THE RAILROAD NETWORK SINCE 1966

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R001600040027-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 14, 2004
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: February 1, 1971
• Content Type: IM

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DIRECTORATE OF
JNTELLIGENCE
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Intelligence Memorandum
Communist China: Expansion Of The Railroad Network
Since 1966
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
February 1971
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
Communist China: Expansion Of The Railroad Network
since 1966
Introduction
Following the collapse of the Great Leap Forward in 1960,
railroad construction activity in Communist China dropped
precipitously. Construction activity remained dormant for
several years, until the Chinese began preparations for a
Third Five-Year Plan (1966-70). The renewed. attempt to ex-
pand and improve the railroad net was interrupted in turn
in 1967-68 when the Cultural Revolution led to dislocations
in economic planning and output and to work stoppages at
many railroad construction projects. In 1969 and 1970 the
scope and intensity of railroad construction increased sig-
nificantly as the disorders of the Cultural Revolution
waned and as the Chinese began to revive long-term economic
planning. Much of this recent construction represents the
continuation of work started in the 1950s; only a few major
projects were initiated in the past decade. The Chinese
have indicated that expansion of the rail system will be
given a high priority in the new Fourth Five-Year Plan (1971-
75).
This memorandum examines railroad construction activity
in China since 1966, discusses the additions made to the
rail network, and describes the construction currently under
way. It concludes with an appraisal of the significance of
Note: This memorandum was prepared by the Office of Economic
Research and was coordinated within the Directorate of
InteZZigence.
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The Pace of Construction
1. After the collapse of the Great Leap Forward in 1960,
the Chinese Communist regime was forced to concentrate on
restoring the food supply to a tolerable minimum level and
on maintaining activity in a narrow range of top-priority
military research and production. Railroad construction was
among the branches of the economy that were drastically
trimmed back. The amount of railroad track opened to traf-
fic dropped to one-third its former level (see the Table).
With the revival of the general economy and start of prep-
arations for the Third Five-Year Plan (1966-70), railroad
construction activity recovered to the former level of about
1,000 kilometers (km) of track completed per year. This
recovery was short-lived, however, as the upheavals of the
Cultural Revolution again resulted in a downturn in railroad
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construction. The estimate of newly opened track for the three
years -- from the fall of 1965 to the fall of 1968 -- suggests
an annual rate of 620 km but the rate pre- 25X1
sumably was lower than this during the most intense period
of the Cultural Revolution in 1967-68.
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Individual Construction Projects*
3. The following are major rail lines recently completed
or currently under construction in Communist China.
Completed
Ch'eng-tu - K'un-ming Line
4. The Ch'eng-tu - K'un-ming rail line was completed by
the end of 1970 after 13 years of construction activity. This
major north-south line, extending 1,070 km through extremely
rough and mountainous terrain was one of the
few rail construction projects that remained active during the
Cultural Revolution. Providing a shorter and more direct
route to Yunnan Province from the Szechwan Basin, this rail
line establishes the means for transporting the rich mineral
resources of this region to major industrial cities such as
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Ch'eng-tu-K'un-ming Rail Line
Ch'eng-tu and Chung- 25X1
ch'ing and for promoting
the overall economic de-
velopment of the region.
5. The Jen-ho-chieh
industrial complex, a
major new facility being
built near the Yunnan-
Szechwan border, is lo-
cated on a short spur 25X1
line from the newly con-
structed rail line. This
urren y under construc-
tion
Wu-han - Ch 'ung-ch'ing
Line
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6. The Wu-han - Ch'ung-
ch'ing rail line, located in
Hupeh, Shensi, and Szechwan
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 Wu-han-Ch'ung-ch'ing Rail Line
HsUn-yang
II?n, 1/,
projected
-
An-Wang N ..Chun-I\sien
Tzu-yang __%'
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Provinces, was originally started in 1958 as an 800-km connec-
tion between Wu-han and Sian in Shensi Province. This line was
operational to the vicinity of a hydroelectric complex near
Kuang-hua by the end of 1966, when roadbed construction was
halted. However, work continued during the Cultural Revolution
on a major railroad bridge over the Han River near Kuang-hua. 25X1
This bridge was completed in late 1969, and roadbed construction
resumed toward the northwest. At the same time, roadbed construc-
tion started north of Ch'ung-ch'ing toward the northeast.
7. This rail line -- which forms a huge arc -- will be approxi-
mately 1,200 km in length when completed and will provide the first
direct rail route between the Szechwan Basin and eastern China.
At present. the main connection is the inland water route on the
Yangtze River. The new line will connect with two major north-south
rail lines at Hsiang-fan and Wu-han, providing ready access to the
existing system. Little industrial or mining activity presently
exists along the alignment of the proposed rail line, but increased
economic activity can be expected when the project is completed.
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8. Closely related to the work presently under way on
the Wu-han - Ch'ung-ch'ing line was the initiation in 1969 of a
rail line in the upper Han River Valley which may link the
projected line with the Pao-chi - Ch'eng-tu line to the west.
This line will be approximately 310 km in length when fin-
ished. At present it is complete from the Pao-chi - Ch'eng-tu
rail line to a point about 150 km east of the line. The
construction of this line will open the Han River Valley for
industrial development and will establish increased access
to western China when the Wu--han - Chung-ch'ing line is open
to traffic.
Lan-dhoiu - Tsaidam Basin Line
9. The Chinese resumed construction on a rail line
between Lan-chou and the Tsaidam Basin in Tsinghai Province
during 1970 after some nine years of inactivity. Roadbed
constructi.on had been resumed near Hai-yen on this projected
1,200-km line by August 1970 and work was under way on
culverts and bri'.ges further west along the proposed route.
Work on two additional segments of the line, abandoned in
1961, has not resumed.
10. This line will provide improved access to the mi nera125X1
rich Tsaidam Basin as well as to the strategically important
Tsinghai-Tibet highway.
Lo-yang -- Lou-ti Line
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25
By
cne end orS IU tnis line naa teen completed to 1C'F1h-cft'eng
where the fourth major bride to cross the Yangtze River was
nearing completion Further roadbed prepara- 25X1
tion was also under way south or the river. This rail line
approximately parallels the existing Peking-Canton line, lo-
cated some 100 to 200 km to the east, and probably will even-
tually be constructed at least as far south as Lou-ti.
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 12. In ad-
dition to es-
tablishing an
alternate route
for heavy north-
south traffic,
this line will
open up parts
of Honan, Hupeh,
and Hunan Pro-
vinces for in-
dustrial de-
velopment and
other economic
activity. This
line connects
with the new
Wu-han - Ch'ung-
ch'ing line at
Hsiang-fan.
Lo-yang--Lou-ti Rail Line
13. Little work was done
on the Wu-hu - Kuei-ch'i rail
line in Anhwei and Kiangsi
Provinces until 1969 when con-
struction was resumed after a
halt since 1960. This line,
which will serve agricultural,
mining, and industrial activi-
ties in this area, has been
completed from Kuei-ch'i to a
location south of Lo-ping, and
construction is continuing.
14. Construction activity
resumed in 1969 on the Peking -
Yuan-p'ing rail line which pro-
vides a third link between the
capital and the Ta-t'ung - Ta'i
yuan line in northern China.
This line was under construc-
tion between 1966 and 1968 when
work was halted and. the roadbed
was used as a highway. With
the resumption of rail line
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Peking-Yuan-p'ing Rail Line
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construction in 1969, work has progressed rapidly on the line.
It will provide an additional line to the interior from Peking
and will serve the numerous agricultural and mining activities
in this region. A massive new petroleum refinery is under 25X1
construction at a location near the new line.
The Ning-wu - Ko-lan branch line, which leads west from the 25X1
Ta-t'un:; - T'ai-yuan rail line, will be approximately 95 km in
length when completed F_ I
ni is construction on t is
ine was egun in the latter part of 1968 and has continued to
the present. Two rail yards are completed and three additional
rail yards are presently under construction along this line.
16. The K'u-lu-ch'i - Mo-ho area rail line in northeastern
China has been under active construction since its inception
in the early 1960s. With the exception of the summer of 1968,
when Cultural Revolution activities apparently stopped construc-
tion on this line, the Chinese have given it high priority
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presumably because
of the rich timber
resources which are
found in this re-
gion.
17. The rail
line proceeds north
from K'u-lu-ch'i to
Ku-chri-ku and then
continues north and
west through heavily
timbered terrain.
Several small rail
yards and rail-to-
road transfer points
are located along
this route as well
as along a major
branch line which
extends west and
north from a point
approximately half-
way between K'u-lu-
ch'i and Ku-ch'i-ku.
K'u-Iu-ch'i-Mo-ho Area Rail Line
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ity of this rail line to the border area possibly adds stra-
tegic significance to its completion and to the high priority
given it. Another line projected to the Sino-Soviet border
in Manchuria is the Pei-an to Ai-hui line where construction
was halted in 1966 at a point north of Lung-chen. No further
work has been noted on this line.
19. The completion of the 152-km Sui-ch'i to Fu-yang line
in Anhwei Province in the latter part of 1970 provided the
means for serving agriculture and mining activity in this area.
Primarily a regional rail line serving regional interests, the
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line has no strategic significance. This line exemplifies
much of the construction activity in the eastern part of
the country -- serving local and regional transport require-
ments as well as expanding the existinc; national rail network.
20. Construction resumed on the Yen-liang - Ch'u-wo-hsien
rail line in Shensi and Shansi Provinces beyond Yen-liang in
1970. Approximately 122 km of rail line had been completed
by the end of 1970. Better access to the west from the Ta-
t'ung Feng-ling-tu line and to thL regional industrial and
mining activities located in this area will be gained with
its completion.
Significance for the Railroad System
21. The length of the main railroad network in Communist
China -vas approximately 40 , 00 0 km at the end of 19 70 , about
7%, ox 3,000 km, of which had been built since 1966. This
total length will be increased by about 3,700 km when the
rail 1_.nes presently under construction are completed, and
further projects will be initiated in the 1970s. During the
past decade the Chinese have attempted to correct the uneven
physical distribution of the rail system in order to help
solidify central government control over some of the more
remote areas of the southwestern and central parts of the
country, to disperse China's industrial base into areas
potentially rich in mineral resources, and to provide more
efficient logistical support to critical areas for national
defense purposes.
22. These goals have been emphasized in the current rail-
road construction program. The expansion of the rail net-
work into the southwestern anc; central regions of the country
represents an effort on the part of the Chinese to provide
the necessary transport infrastructure for overall economic
development, to establish the means for transporting the
rich mineral resources both within and out of these regions,
and to improve the capability for transporting military
supplies and troops in these areas. In particular, the Ch'eng-
tu - K'un-ming, the Wu-han - Ch'ung-ch'ing, and the Lo-
yang - Lou-ti rail lines illustrate these goals.
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23. In addition, the internal expansion and development
found in the eastern part of the country reflect the Chinese
desire to maintain and improve the existing railroad network
for purposes of providing a modern, efficient system to carry
the increased economic traffic expected to be generated by
the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1971-75). The construction of
numerous new branch and spur lines to industrial, mining, and
agricultural facilities as well as the addition of new rail
yards and bypasses, the realignment of existing track, and
the improvement of rail junctions are representative of
Chinese efforts to prepare for the new Plan.
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24. Peking has assigned a high priority to the expansion
and improvement of the railroad system, particularly to the
extension of the rail system into new areas of southwestern
and central China. However, the Chinese have chosen to rely 25X1
less on double-tracking for the movement of traffic on heavily
traveled lines than initially envisioned during the Great
Leap Forward.
Conclusions
25. Railroad construction activity in Communist China
dropped during the Cultural Revolution but revived strongly
in 1969-70. The length of the main railroad network in
Communist China was approximately 40,000 km at the end of
1970, about 7% of which had been built since 1966. The
Chinese have attempted to extend the rail system in order
to solidify central government control over some of the more
remote areas of the country, to disperse China's industrial
base into areas potentially rich in mineral resources, and
to provide more efficient logistical support to the military.
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