Transportation serves as a crucial lens for understanding socio-economic connections and characterizing spatial interactions. China's transportation infrastructure has consistently ranked among the world's most advanced, with the second-longest total railway mileage and the longest high-speed rail (HSR) network globally. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transport, by the end of 2018, China's railway operational mileage reached 131,000 kilometers, with a network density of 136.0 km per 10,000 square kilometers. The development of railways has generated multifaceted positive impacts: regionally, railway stations have shortened temporal distances between cities, enhanced transportation efficiency, enabled infrastructure and service sharing across cities, optimized flows of people, goods, and information, and fostered new regional economic development patterns; nationally, improved passenger mobility and freight circulation have contributed to overall economic growth, cultural exchange, and environmental protection. These effects are particularly pronounced in high-speed rail compared to conventional railways.
As Martin Raiser, World Bank Country Director for China, noted:
"China has built the world's largest high-speed rail network, whose impacts extend far beyond the railway sector itself, reshaping urban development patterns, boosting tourism, and stimulating regional economic growth. Citizens now enjoy unprecedented convenience and reliability in travel, while the HSR network lays the foundation for future reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."
The economic, social, media, and environmental impacts of high-speed rail development constitute a valuable academic "gold mine." CnOpenData's Railway Timetable Dataset comprehensively covers all train schedule information from 12306 (available in multiple annual versions: 2007, 2011, 2013, and subsequent years), including timetables and train information for D, G, C, T, K, and Z category trains. Additionally, CnOpenData has compiled complete HSR line tables and station opening timelines.
Temporal Coverage
2007, 2011, 2013, and annual railway timetables thereafter
Field Descriptions
Historical Train Timetable Data
Train Information Table Fields
HSR Station Opening Timeline Fields
HSR Line Table Fields
Sample Data
Historical Train Timetable Sample Data
Train Information Table Sample Data
HSR Station Opening Timeline Sample Data
HSR Line Table Sample Data
Relevant Literature
- Wang Yongjin and Hou Yuntao, 2022: "Population Mobility and Inter-city Commodity Price Differences: Evidence from High-speed Rail Opening," World Economy, No. 1.
- Long Yu, Zhao Hailong, Zhang Xinde, and Li Yao, 2017: "Venture Capital in Spatio-temporal Compression: HSR Connectivity and Regional Changes in Venture Investment," Economic Research Journal, No. 4.
- Tang Yihong, Yu Feng, Lin Faqin, and Zhang Mengting, 2019: "China's High-speed Rail, Trade Costs, and Enterprise Exports," Economic Research Journal, No. 7.
- Zhang Jun, 2017: "High-speed Rail Construction and County-level Economic Development: A Study Based on Satellite Nightlight Data," China Economic Quarterly, No. 4.
- Zhang Mengting, Yu Feng, Zhong Changbiao, and Lin Faqin, 2018: "HSR Network, Market Access, and Enterprise Productivity," China Industrial Economics, No. 5.
- Zhang Xun, Wang Xu, Wan Guanghua, and Sun Fangcheng, 2018: "A Comprehensive Framework for Transportation Infrastructure's Role in Economic Growth," Economic Research Journal, No. 1.
- Zhao Jing, Huang Jingchang, and Liu Feng, 2018: "High-speed Rail Opening and Stock Price Crash Risk," Management World, No. 1.
- Donaldson, D. and R. Hornbeck, 2016: "Railroads and American Economic Growth: A 'Market Access' Approach," Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.131, 799-858.
Data Update Frequency
Annual updates