It was learned from a press conference held by the provincial government that by the end of 2017, the railway operating mileage had reached 5,700 km; the high-speed railway operating mileage had reached 1,240 km; and the total highway mileage had reached 270,000 km, of which the expressway mileage had reached 5,820 km. The province's comprehensive transport network had reached 283,000 km, with its overall level among the top in the country.
　　The freight-oriented “four vertical and four horizontal” railway network has been basically completed. The 20 planned railway projects involve a total investment of 214.8 billion yuan and a total construction length of 4,053 km. On the other hand, the planning and implementation of the medium- and long-term rapid passenger railway network, which is mainly passenger-oriented, has proceeded smoothly. All projects in the province's originally planned “three horizontal and five vertical” rapid railway network have been included in the National Medium- and Long-Term Railway Network Plan and the Intercity Railway Plan for the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration in the Bohai Rim Region, with a planned railway construction length of 4,700 km and a total investment of 610 billion yuan. Since the second half of 2017, the province has conducted in-depth research on the high-speed rail network and plans to upgrade the “three horizontal and five vertical” high-speed rail network to “three rings, four horizontal and six vertical” through “densification, speed upgrading and channel expansion.” This plan is currently being compiled at an accelerated pace.
　　Guan Zhaoquan said that the next five years (2018-2022) will be a golden period and critical period for the province to accelerate high-speed rail construction. Taking various factors into comprehensive consideration, the province is capable of using the five-year period to basically modernize the province's high-speed rail network by adjusting the construction sequence, accelerating channel construction, and coordinating the integrated development of various rail transit modes such as high-speed rail, intercity rail, regional rail and urban light rail. First, on the basis of 1,136 km already in operation, 555 billion yuan will be invested to accelerate the construction of 18 high-speed rail projects with a construction length of 3,400 km; after completion, the province's high-speed rail operating mileage will reach 4,500 km, ranking among the top in the country. Second, channel construction will be comprehensively accelerated, with priority given to advancing high-speed rail projects within the Jinan-Qingdao, Lunan, northern coastal, Beijing-Kowloon, Beijing-Shanghai second channel, Binlin and eastern coastal corridors, opening up the “main artery” of high-speed rail channels and forming the main framework of the “three horizontal and five vertical” high-speed rail network. Third, the planning and construction of regional railways will be accelerated, new rail transit equipment and technologies will be explored and promoted, interconnection with urban light rail, subway and other transport facilities will be achieved, the “capillaries” of the high-speed rail network will be expanded, the coverage of high-speed rail will be extended, and fast connection channels within and outside cities will be opened up.
　　In addition, planning and construction of expressways, civil aviation, ports and other areas have also achieved positive results. By the end of the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, the province will have basically completed the three vertical corridors of Beijing-Kowloon, Beijing-Shanghai and the coastal areas and the three horizontal corridors of Jinan-Qingdao, central Shandong and Lunan, forming a “three vertical and three horizontal” comprehensive transport corridor. The functions of the four national comprehensive transport hubs of Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai and Weifang will be further improved, and a comprehensive transport network with complete transport modes, safety, convenience and efficiency will basically take shape.