(Yicai Global) Jan. 4 -- China State Railway Group, the national railroad operator, said it expects revenue to rebound this year to the pre-pandemic level of 2019 after the country lifted travel restrictions.

Revenue will likely jump 18 percent to CNY817.5 billion (USD118.6 billion) in 2023 from last year, the Beijing-based company said at a work meeting held yesterday.

Passenger and cargo throughputs are expected to jump 67.6 percent and 1.8 percent to 2.7 billion people and 4 billion tons, respectively, this year from 2022, the state-owned firm added.

The rail operator also noted that it plans to put into operation 3,000 kilometers of new lines, 2,500 km of which will be high-speed links. Last year, the figures were 4,100 km and 2,082 km, respectively.

China Railway’s fixed investment has declined every year in recent years, falling 5 percent to CNY710.9 billion in 2022, the lowest in nine years.

Due to economic pressures, China has accelerated the construction of railroad projects since the fourth quarter of last year to give full play to their role in driving the economy. Before the end of 2022, building work on many high-speed lines, including those between Xi’an and Wan’an and Nantong and Ningbo, got underway.

At the end of last year, China Railway operated 155,000 km of railroad, of which 42,000 km was high-speed track, the company said.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione