The Ministry of Railways has recently put forward its strategic goal for railway construction in China's west in the way the western China development strategy set by the CPC Central Committee and State Council is to be fully translated into practice during the 10th Five-year Plan period in China.

Railway construction to be launched on an enlarged scale, inside and outside channels strengthened and greater transportation capability developed in Western China are among the various undertakings to be launched. These include construction of over 18 thousand kilometers of new railways by 2005 with a planned investment of 100 billion yuan in the western areas of China.