The director of Chengdu Railway Bureau, Wu Yong, told the ongoing provincial people’s congress that by 2015 Sichuan will have 2,500km of high-speed railway lines, accounting for 10 per cent of the national total. Mr Wu said that the focus of railway construction nationwide will move to the interior during the 12th five-year plan (2011-15) and Sichuan will be the main construction site. By 2015, he predicted, Chengdu will become the most comprehensive rail hub in the interior.

Statistics show that by end-2010 Sichuan had an operational rail length of 3,547km, ranking 10th nationally. Out of that total, 400km was high speed, accounting for just 4.8 per cent of the entire Chinese network. By 2015 the province will have an operational rail length of 6,380km, rising to fourth place in the national league table.

Due to its mountainous terrain, roads and railway lines are difficult to build in Sichuan. For centuries, many famous Chinese authors and poets have written that going to Sichuan is more challenging than going to heaven.