China has invested in adjusting its shipping structure, including road-to rail and road-to waterway, to address the country’s heavy dependence on road transport as well as growing freight activity. This report examines the opportunities and challenges that China’s freight rail faces in meeting the shipping needs for various products. It compares it with the freight railroad in the United States.

This study of China and U.S. freight rails focused on the management structure, physical infrastructure and major policy guidelines of both systems. The network and facilities of the two systems are similar, but their management frameworks differ significantly. China has made significant investments in rail infrastructure, rolling stock and track length. This has resulted in a large increase in locomotives, railcars and track length. The average hauling distance has decreased slightly. This could be due to a better network, which is the result of the construction of more railyards, stations, and other infrastructure.

The United States’ experiences could be valuable for China as it seeks to improve its service and operations, and reposition itself to become the backbone of its freight system. Upgrades to infrastructure, facilities and equipment, such as longer receiving and departing track lengths and heavier track axle load, could be used to boost the capacity of the rail system. We also identified that China can take proactive measures to improve shipping capacity and service. We also assessed the potential use of Intermodal Transportation for selected high-value commodities. For research and policy formulation, it is necessary to do more work on the freight market.