China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 89200 High-Speed Railways in China: A Look at Construction Costs Gerald Ollivier, Jitendra Sondhi and Nanyan Zhou World Bank Office, Beijing By the end of 2013, China Railway had built a network of about 10,000 route-km of high-speed railways (HSR). The network has been built rapidly and at a relatively low unit cost compared with similar projects in other countries. This note takes a look at this expansion, its construction unit costs and some of its key cost components. It also outlines reasons that may explain the comparatively low cost of HSR construction in China. Introduction km/h express passenger railways and 200 km/h mixed use railways. This note covers both the In terms of HSR length, China now leads the HSR and new 200 km/h speed railways in China. 2 world. The HSR program started in 2003 with a 404 km line between Qinhuangdao and Shenyang 16,000 operated at a maximum speed of 250 km/h. It Cumulative operational length (km) 14,000 200km/h Mixed rapidly gained momentum (Figure 1) with the 200km/h PDL 12,000 Mid-to-Long Term Railway Network Plan adopted 250km/h in 2004, and updated in 2008, which laid out the 10,000 350km/h railway development plan through 2020. The 8,000 Beijing–Tianjin HSR, the first of a new generation 6,000 of HSR, opened in August 2008 with a maximum 4,000 speed of 350 km/h. 2,000 - HSR in China 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Definitions of HSR differ but, generally, railways Year with a maximum speed of 250 km/h or more are Figure 1. Length of China HSR and 200 km/h lines by year considered as HSR (UIC, 2008). According to by category 2008-2013. Source: Yearbooks of China Order No. 34, 2013 from China’s Ministry of Transportation & Communications, China Railway Railways, HSR refers to newly built passenger Yearbooks, and Planning & Statistics Department of CRC dedicated lines with (actual or reserved) speed of 250 km/h and above. By 2013, China had In China, HSR lines on high density corridors such completed construction of a high-speed rail as Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Guangzhou tend network of about 10,000 route-km. China’s HSR to have a maximum design speed of 350 km/h. network now far exceeds the HSR network in any HSR corridors with more modest volumes of other country and is larger than the HSR network passengers have a maximum design speed of 250 in the entire European Union. It will continue to km/h. Generally, both of these types of HSR are grow as more than 12,000 route-km HSR are passenger-dedicated lines (PDL) and are newly currently under construction in China 1 . In built as green-field projects. addition, China has built a number of new 200 2 A further 6,000km or so of existing conventional rail lines 1 Xinhua News, Mar 05, 2014. see: were upgraded to 200 km/h as part of the sixth acceleration http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014- in 2007, although the information about such upgraded lines 03/05/c_119626642.htm is not detailed enough to be reported here. 1 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 At the end of December 2013, most of the testing of a new design of signaling equipment, metropolitan regions in China are either which lacked proper fail-safe features. connected, or in the process of being connected, Cost of HSR Lines to lines with a maximum speed of 200 km/h or above. The map on the next page shows the An analysis of the cost for 27 HSRs in operation7 HSR routes that are operational, under at the end of 2013 showed the unit cost varied construction, or in the CRC’s current plan3. substantially. The unit cost of 350 km/h projects was between RMB 94-183m per km (Figure 3; see All HSRs and 200 km/h speed trains are operated also section below on Cost Factors). The unit cost with Electric Multiple Unit trains (EMU) consisting of 250 km/h PDLs was, with a couple of of 8 or 16 carriages. Based on current CRC train exceptions, between RMB 70-169m per km. The schedules (2014), 70 to 100 pairs of HSR trains are weighted average unit cost for a line8 was RMB operated daily on busy routes and up to eight 129m per km for a 350 km/h project and RMB pairs of trains per hour are operated during peak 87m per km for a 250 km/h project. hours. Traffic density on such routes is estimated at about 20-30 million passengers4. On medium 200 density routes, 40 to 50 pairs of trains are 180 183 169 operated daily. Two types of services are 160 Unit Cost (RMB million) provided. Express trains stop only at major cities 140 while other trains also stop at intermediate 120 stations. 100 94 Based on the People’s Railway Post in January 80 70 2014, the average seat occupancy is 70 percent. 60 Second class fares of HSR vary between US$ 0.045 40 per km at 200 to 250 km/h and 0.077 at 300 to 20 250km/h 350km/h 350 km/h. This is three to four times that on - conventional express trains, but this is lower or 9 Figure 3. Unit Cost of PDL (Based on Estimated cost at comparable to discounted air fares and, at the the time of Project Approval) Source: Year books of China lower end, similar to intercity bus fares. This is Transportation & Communications 2007-2013/China Railway Yearbooks about one fourth or one fifth of the fares applied in other HSR countries 5 . These trains provide These costs provide a general indication of world-class quality of service and comfort. They construction cost levels but this data is only have carried a large volume of passengers safely, available in aggregate form at this point. except for one major accident in 2011 that caused Expenditures were incurred over different years, about 40 fatalities 6 , attributed to inadequate so costs may not be directly comparable10, given the impact of inflation as well as fluctuations in 3 This map includes projects as listed in China Transportation the supply and demand for rail construction and Communications Year Books (2007 to 2013). services. But they nonetheless provide a useful Commencement of civil works signifies the beginning of range of benchmarking values for new projects. construction although land acquisition precedes beginning of construction. 7 4 Wu, The Financial and Economic Assessment Investments: a Cost data sourced from official publications of China Preliminary Analysis. Passenger density is defined as total Railway Corporation and former Ministry of Railways. 8 passenger km per year on a route divided by route length. Includes cost of project preparation, land, civil works, track 5 works, core systems, regular stations (but only some of the France: 0.24 to 0.31 US$/km; Germany 0.34 US$/km; Japan: 0.29-0.31 US$/km, based on official travel websites. mega stations), depot and yards, rolling stock and interest 6 Germany had an accident in 1998, resulting in 101 fatalities. during construction. 9 Spain had an accident in 2013 resulting in 79 fatalities. Japan, The unit cost for a new 250km/h would be higher as most in its long history of HSR operation, has never had a fatality of such lines were completed by 2010. 10 due to a HSR train accident. 250 km/h lines were built about 2 years earlier. 2 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 Figure 2. China Railway-HSR and new 200 km/h Railways (Operational, under construction and planned11, by December, 2013) Mapped by the authors based on data from Year Books of China Transportation and Communications China Railway Yearbooks, and Planning & Statistics Department of CRC 11 Lines shorter than 50km are not shown on the map. Part of the Lanzhou-Urumqi Railway will in part follow a 200km/h speed standard. 3 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 HSR Projects Supported by the World Bank in Table 2 shows the contribution of various China elements to the total project cost for all Bank- supported projects. Civil works contribute The main features of railway projects which about 50 percent of the cost while signaling and have been supported by World Bank are communications and electrification each summarized in Table 1. Since 2006, the World contribute about 5 percent of the cost. Table 3 Bank has provided financial and technical shows the average estimated unit cost of some support for six railway projects with speeds of elements of railway projects supported by the 200 km/h or above. One of these, the Bank. Information gathered during project Shijiazhuang-Zhengzhou HSR project, which is supervision indicates that actual costs are close part of the Beijing-Guangzhou HSR, was to the estimated costs. An analysis of the actual completed and commissioned in December cost of building the Shijiazhuang-Wuhan PDL 2012, while the others are at different stages of (841 km), which included the Shijiazhuang- implementation. Zhengzhou Railway, indicates that the actual unit cost was about 5 percent below estimates. Table 1. Railway Projects Supported by the World Bank in China Project Max. Speed Length Total Unit Cost Bridges+ Period of kph/Type Km Estimated Cost RMB m/km Viaduct+ Construction RMB b Tunnels (% of route km) Shijiazhuang - Zhengzhou 350 PDL 355 43.9 123 69 2008-2012 Guiyang - Guangzhou 250 PDL 857 94.6 110 80 2008-2014 Jilin- Hunchun 250 PDL 360 39.6 110 66 2010-2014 Zhangjiakou – Hohhot 250 PDL 286 34.6 121 67 2013-2017 Nanning – Guangzhou 200 Mixed 463 41.0 89 53 2008-2014 Harbin – Jiamusi 200 Mixed 343 33.9 99 48 2014-2017 Notes: 1. Total project cost includes the cost of project preparation, land acquisition, construction of the railway and regular stations, contingencies, rolling stock and interest during construction. The cost of railway excluding cost of project preparation, rolling stock and interest during construction is estimated at about 82 percent of the total cost. 2. Cost References: GG-Revised FSR Dec. 2010, NG- PAD May 2009, Shi-Zheng PAD May 2008, Jituhun-PAD 2011, Zhang-Hu-FSR, HaJia-Revised Feasibility Study Oct.2012/PAD. Table 2. Percentage of Total Project Costs Element 350 km/h 250 km/h 200 km/h Land acquisition and 4 4-8 6-9 resettlement Civil works 48 50-54 44-51 Embankment 6 7-12 13-15 12 Bridges/Viaducts 41* 13-25 25-27 Tunnels 0* 16-29 2-13 Track 9 9-11 6-7 Signaling and communications 4 3 4 Electrification 5 4-5 4-5 Rolling stock 15 3-4 5-7 Buildings including stations 2 2-4 3-5 Other costs Balance Balance Balance *An exception is Shizheng Railway that has 69 percent of track on viaduct accounting for 41 percent of cost and no tunnels. 12 The unit cost of bridges/viaducts includes that for short/medium length bridges over water and specially designed bridges over large rivers as well as viaducts built over dry land. 4 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 Table 3. Range of Average Unit Costs preferred 14 in China to minimize resettlement (RMB million/per km of double track) and the use of fertile land as well as to reduce Element 350 km/h 250 km/h 200 km/h environmental impacts. Land acquisition 4 5-9 5-8 This note looks in more detail at the cost of and resettlement Civil Works 57 56-62 42-43 viaducts and bridges as experienced under World Embankment 24 31-42 23-28 Bank supported projects and at the cost of Bridges/viaducts 71 57-73 59-62 stations. Tunnels -- 60-95 51-68 Low Cost Viaduct Construction Track Track 10 10-13 In the projects supported by the World Bank, the (ballast-less)* estimated cost of viaducts in China ranges from Track 5-7 RMB 57 to 73 m/km for a double track line15. (ballasted)* Such costs are kept low through standardization Signaling and 5 3 3-4 of the design and manufacturing process for Communications casting and laying bridge beams on viaducts. The Electrification 6 4-5 4 span of viaduct beams has been standardized at *Ballast-less slab track is used for 350 and 250 km/h PDLs 24 and 32m (weighing about 750-800t). Bridge while ballasted track is employed for 200 km/h railways. Source: FSR/PAD for projects beams are cast in temporary facilities established along the railway alignment. Each beam is Cost Factors transported over a distance up to 8 km by a special beam carrier vehicle (having as many as Several factors influence the cost of a HSR and 18 axles) (Picture 1) and is launched over the 200 km/h railway project construction. The viaduct columns by specially designed equipment major factors include the line design speed, type (Picture 2). The cost of a 32m-bridge beam is of tracks, topography along the alignment 13 , about RMB 0.8-1.0 m. The slab track is also cast in weather conditions (such as very low temporary facilities established along the railway temperature requiring special design features for the road bed), land acquisition costs (these are Picture 1. Beam Carrier high in dense urban areas), use of viaducts instead of embankments, the construction of major bridges across wide rivers, and the construction of mega stations. For example, the Beijing-Tianjin HSR unit cost was higher than usual at RMB 183m per km since it included the cost of two mega stations built at Beijing South and Tianjin, which serve other lines as well. The unit cost of Shanghai-Hangzhou HSR (RMB 177m/km) was high since it included several major bridges and a high cost of land 14 Three very long over-land bridges (viaducts) are part of acquisition and resettlement as it traverses the Beijing-Shanghai HSR which commenced operation in densely populated areas of Eastern China with 2011. These are: the 164 km long Danyang–Kunshan Grand high land values. Laying track on viaducts, even if Bridge, the 114 km long Tianjin Grand Bridge and the 48 km more expensive than embankment, is often long Beijing Grand Bridge – the first, second, and fifth longest in the world respectively at the time. Shi-Zheng Railway has 69 percent of track on viaducts to minimize land 13 In particular, mountainous areas require extensive take resettlement in the fertile plains it traverses. 15 tunneling and bridge construction, which can reach as high The actual cost of a typical viaduct on the ShiZheng as 80 percent of the alignment length. Railway was RMB 60-70m per km. 5 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 Picture 2. Beam Launching Equipment Arch suspension bridge with a main span of 450m over the Xi river and a total length of 618 m. Cost: RMB 580 million. Unit cost: RMB 938 million/km. Picture 4. Sixianjiao Bridge alignment. After project completion, the bridge beam and slab track casting facilities are dismantled and reinstalled at another site. The vacated land is systematically restored by relaying the site with the original top soil and is Cable-stayed steel truss bridge with 105 m high pylons. Total length of 567m. Estimated cost of handed over to its owners for agricultural use. RMB 490 million. Unit cost of RMB 864 million per High Cost of Unique Bridges km. (credit to Guiguang Co.) Special bridges that cross large navigable rivers Railway Stations (class three and up) or that need to Railway stations play a dual role as transport accommodate special topographic features like hubs and urban centers. Many of them are urban mountains have a cost per kilometer that can be landmarks that seek to reflect the local culture much higher than that of a regular viaduct. and heritage, while supporting urban expansion. Those bridges are designed to address unique Traffic volumes vary widely across stations. challenges, and require much more intensive Accordingly the size and cost of stations varies design work and sophisticated construction markedly with small stations (3,000 sq m station techniques. Usually such bridges represent a building) costing about RMB 40 million, while small percentage of the total number of bridges. mega stations, more akin to airport terminals, Projects having larger proportion of special may cost up to RMB 13 billion. The cost of regular bridges will tend to have a high unit cost, like the stations, other than mega stations, is generally Xijiang and Sixianjiao bridges under World Bank included in the project cost and is of the order of supported projects (Picture 3 and 4). 1.0 to 1.5 percent of the total project cost16. The mega stations are frequently built as Picture 3. Xijiang River Bridge near Zhaoqing independent projects and their costs are not always included in the HSR project cost. Mega stations are traditionally built in the largest cities, and tend to be large airport-type buildings, with close attention to architecture and local culture. Hence, Beijing South Station is reminiscent of the Temple of Heaven 17 ; and 16 The cost of 16 new stations on Guiguang Railway (250 km/h ) is estimated at RMB 1.16 billion, i.e. 1.2 percent of the total project cost. 17 http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%AC%E5 %8D%97%E7%AB%99 6 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 Wuhan Station resembles a bird spreading its (RMB 100-125m) per km, with a high ratio of wings, inspired by the Yellow Crane, the symbol viaducts and tunnels. The cost of HSR of Wuhan City18. construction in Europe, having design speed of 300 km/h or above is estimated to be of the Mega stations are large and expensive to build, order of US$25-39 m per km (see table 4 & 5). but they fill up rapidly during peak travel period. HSR construction cost (excluding land, rolling Such stations have three to five levels and stock and interest during construction) is provide interchange facilities between railway, estimated to be as high as US$ 52m per km in road and metro systems. The mega station at California21. Shanghai Hongqiao has interchange facilities for the airport and for a future maglev train. These Based on D.P. Crozet22, the unit cost for four HSR stations seek to provide facilities that promote lines under construction in France in 2013 ranges quick and comfortable transit for large volumes between US$ 24.8m and 35.2m (Table 4). of traffic. Notable among these are stations at Table: 4 Estimated cost of the four lines under Beijing South (RMB 6.3b-US$ 1.0b; 310,000 sq m), construction in France Wuhan (RMB 4.1b US$ 0.70b; 114,000 sq m), CNM Sud Guangzhou South (RMB 13b US$2.1b; 486,000 sq EAST Nimes- Europe m) and Zhengzhou East (RMB 9.5b US$1.5b; Stras- BPL Montpell- Atlan- 412,000 sq m)19. bourg Brittany ier tique Total Total cost Picture 5. Beijing South Station (Euro m) 2 000 3 300 1 800 7 800 14 900 (Artist’s impression of station design) Length (km) 106 182 80 303 671 Cost/km (Euro m) 18.9 18.1 22.5 25.7 22.2 (US$ m) $25.9 $24.8 $30.8 $35.2 $30.4 Table 5: Estimated Cost of Recent HSR Projects in Europe Approximate Construction Length High-Speed Rail Construction Completion (km) Project Cost per km ($US Date 2012 m) Potential Factors Explaining Relatively Low HSR Cordoba - Malaga 155 $27 2007 Costs In China (Spain) Madrid – Barcelona 749 $29 2008 HSR construction costs in China tend to be lower –Figueras (Spain) LGV East (France) 300 $31 2007 than in other countries. Based on experience with Madrid – Valladolid 177 $39 2007 World Bank supported projects, the cost of (Spain) railway construction20 is about 82 percent of the Source: Texas A&M Transportation Institute (2013) based on total project costs mentioned earlier. China HSR US Government Accountability Office (2009) with a maximum speed of 350 km/h has a typical infrastructure unit cost of about US$ 17-21m It is apparent that the cost of construction of HSR in China is significantly lower than those listed in 18 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Railway_Station Tables 4 and 5, although comparison is at best 19 From Baike.baidu.com approximate considering difference in accounting 20 Including civil works, track works, regular stations, yards, and cost procedures. Aside from the lower cost of signaling, control and communication, power supply and other superstructure components; excluding the cost of 21 planning, land, some of the mega stations, rolling stock and California HSR Authority, Draft Business Plan 2014 22 interest during construction. International Transport Forum, December 2013 7 China Transport Topics No. 9 July 2014 manpower, several other factors are likely to Conclusions have led to lower HSR unit cost in China. At a program level, the declaration of a credible China Railway has accomplished a remarkable medium term plan for construction of 10,000 km feat in building over 10,000 km of HSR network in of HSR in China over a period of 6-7 years a period of six to seven years at a unit cost that is energized the construction and equipment supply lower than the cost of similar projects in other community to build capacity rapidly and adopt countries. The HSR network operates with high innovative techniques to take advantage of very traffic volumes on its core corridors, and with high volumes of work related to HSR construction. good reliability. This has been accomplished at a This has led to lower unit costs as a result of the cost which is at most two-thirds of that in the rest development of competitive multiple local of the world. Besides the lower cost of labor in sources for construction (earthworks, bridges, China, one possible reason for this is the large tunnels, EMU trains etc.) that adopted scale of the HSR network planned in China. This mechanization in construction and manufacturing. has allowed the standardization of the design of Further, large volumes and the ability to amortize various construction elements, the development capital investment in high-cost construction of innovative and competitive capacity for equipment over a number of projects contributed manufacture of equipment and construction and to the lowering of unit costs. the amortization of the capital cost of construction equipment over a number of Other factors include a relatively low cost of land projects. acquisition and resettlement23, localization of the design and manufacture of goods and Gerald Ollivier is a Sr. Transport Specialist from components as well as the standardization of the Beijing Office of the World Bank, leading or co designs for embankments, track, viaducts, leading teams working on Bank supported electrification, signaling and communication railway projects in China. systems. For example, the slab track manufacture process was imported from Germany but the cost Jitendra Sondhi is a railway engineer and is of the Chinese made product is about a third currently a Consultant to the World Bank’s lower than the German product as a result of railway lending program in China. large volumes and a lower labor cost. The Nanyan Zhou is a transport consultant working technology developed for construction of tunnels with the World Bank and specializing in railway not only resulted in a low unit cost but also a and traffic engineering. speed of 5-10 m of tunnel construction per day. This note is part of the China Transport Note Series to The HSR tunnel construction cost in China (about share experience about the transformation of the US$ 10-15 million per km) is a fraction of that in Chinese transport sector. For comments, please other countries. 24 Tunnel costs are heavily contact Gerald Ollivier (gollivier@worldbank.org). influenced by geology and labor costs and, in the case of China, the latter has also helped in cost Any findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed reduction. herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank. Neither the World Bank nor the authors guarantee the accuracy of any data or other information contained in this document and accept no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. 23 The cost for site work and right of way in California HSR is The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other estimated at US$ 10 million per km contributing 17.6 information shown on any map in this work do not imply any percent of cost. In China Land acquisition and resettlement judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal costs are still below 8 percent of project cost. status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of 24 Average tunnel costs per km are reported to be about such boundaries. US$ 43 m in New Zealand, US$ 50 m in the US and US$ 60 m in Australia (Analyzing Tunnel Cost, Efron and Read, 2012). 8