Shanghai Railway Bureau has set up a special team headed by an executive deputy director to prepare for a stock exchange listing next year, according to a story published by the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Paper on 20 January. The plan is to list its best assets in Shanghai (A shares) and Hong Kong (H shares) and use the money raised to buy out the 1,465km-long Beijing-Shanghai Rail line, which will be used mainly for freight once the Beijing-Shanghai high speed rail line is completed.

At the moment, only two rail operators are listed: Daqing Railway and Guangshen Railway. Daqing Railway operates a 653km line from Datong in Shanxi province to Qinghuangdao in Hebei province, a major line that transports coal from China’s west to east. It is listed in Shanghai. Guangshen Rail, listed in Shanghai, New York and Hong Kong, operates a 146km line between Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Analysts believe that the ongoing railway investment projects across the country will call for more public listings to cover the heavy investment required.