China ended 2024 with 4,806 standard EMU train sets, up from 130 in 2008, with fleet size more than doubling between 2013 and 2018 as network hit 48,0

China Data Portal (2026). Retrieved from https://chinadata.live/data/china-hsr-train-fleet/.

From China When the first high-speed line opened ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China’s fleet of electric multiple-unit train sets was little more than a proof-of-concept — just 130 standard EMU sets, mostly imported or license-built designs.

Sixteen years later, the system has become the world’s largest and most intensely used network, carrying billions of passengers annually and reshaping the country’s economic geography.

Fleet growth in numbers By the end of 2024, the operational fleet stood at 4,806 standard EMU train sets, according to the latest compilation from ChinaData Live.

That figure represents a 37-fold increase from the 130 sets registered in 2008, equating to a net addition of roughly 292 sets each year.

Assuming the widespread eight-car standard formation, the total railcar count soared to 38,448 — enough to form a single passenger train stretching from Beijing to Shanghai.

The acceleration that shaped the network The expansion was far from linear. After a cautious start — the fleet had only 692 sets by 2012 — the pace quickened sharply.

Between 2013 and 2018, the fleet more than tripled, surpassing 3,100 sets, driven by the rollout of new Fuxing and Hexie series trains on freshly opened corridors.

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