Urban rail transit construction is to be accelerated following a decision by the National Development and Reform Commission to approve the plans of 19 Chinese cities. Some 2,100km of lines will be laid and operational by 2015 in these cities at a cost of at least Rmb800bn, according to Mr Dou Hao, deputy general manager of China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC), which has been tasked by the NDRC to assess the cities’ metro planning.

The urban rail projects are bigger than anticipated last year, when 15 cities were given approval to build railway systems, totalling about 1,700km at a cost of Rmb600bn. The decision to increase spending is a result of government measures to boost the economy.

Currently, 14 cities are building 46 urban rail lines, totalling 1,212 km, said Jiao Tongshan, vice-chief of China Communications and Transportation Association. Ten cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Changchun, Shenzhen and Dalian — now have 29 urban rail routes, with a combined operational length of 778km.