National railway investment continues to accelerate. The Shanghai Securities News reporter learned from the railway system on the 21st that in the first five months, national railway fixed asset investment exceeded 224.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%. According to National Bureau of Statistics data, the growth rate of railway transport investment is clearly leading national fixed asset investment.

As is well known, railways are infrastructure. In terms of traditional advantages, compared with other modes of transport, railways have the advantages of large volume over medium and long distances, low freight costs, and energy conservation and environmental protection. These advantages are extremely important in China's vast inland regions for adjusting the production structure and promoting economic development. The more complete the railway transport network, the more conducive it is to reducing logistics costs between regions, and lower logistics costs play a positive role in stabilizing prices and promoting economic development.

In particular, in the face of mounting downward pressure on the domestic economy, in economic terms, railway construction is conducive to resource development and the output of goods; it helps give play to the radiating role of railways in the economy and promotes the development of an export-oriented economy; and it helps develop tourism resources and drive the development of the tertiary industry.

Behind the huge figures is the fact that railway construction is a national strategy that has undergone rigorous demonstration from multiple parties and enjoys strong support from the central government down to local governments. Previously, Premier Li Keqiang already proposed in the government work report that railway investment in 2019 should be maintained at around 700 billion yuan. Therefore, it can be said that the role of railway fixed asset investment in promoting China's economy is healthy and sustainable, and is conducive to adding healthy vitality to the Chinese economy under the new normal.

The author believes that in recent years, China's railway development has achieved remarkable results, but compared with the needs of economic and social development, other modes of transport, and advanced foreign levels, railways remain a weak link in the comprehensive transport system and are relatively lagging in development. To further encourage and expand social capital investment in railways, broaden investment and financing channels, improve the investment environment, fully open the railway investment and operation market, promote diversified investment and financing methods, improve the implementation mechanisms for social capital investment, further improve the social capital investment environment, and increase policy support for social capital investment is of far-reaching significance to the reform and development of China's railways.