This Day, That Year: Sept 9

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Sept 9, 1958, China's first homemade Jianshe diesel locomotive was completed in Beijing, based on the ND1 train imported from Hungary.

Since the success of the locomotive, China has made remarkable progress in train research and development, including railway network construction. In 1982, the first train left Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on the country's first electric double-track rail to Hebei province, as seen in this item from China Daily.

From stream, diesel and electric trains to maglev models, the nation has become a leader in high-speed train technology.

Its high-speed rail industry enjoys global recognition and helps open opportunities for exports to more than more than 100 countries and regions.

China currently operates more than 131,000 kilometers of track, including more than 29,000 km of high-speed rail - two-thirds of the global total.

Last year, China invested more than 338 billion yuan ($49 billion) in the construction of 26 new railways and opened new lines totaling 4,683 km, most of them high-speed.

Nearly 3.4 billion trips were made on Chinese rail lines last year. Every day, an average of 5.5 million people use the nation's high-speed trains, accounting for nearly 60 percent of daily users of the country's rail network.

The State-owned railway car manufacturer CRRC Corp, the world's largest, has started developing a new generation of bullet trains that will operate at 400 km per hour.

In addition, CRRC is designing two types of maglev trains - a 600 km/h high-speed version and a 200 km/h medium-speed version. Designers said the company expects to put them into service sometime around 2021.

According to a plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's railway network will be extended to 175,000 km by the end of 2025, including 38,000 km of high-speed rail.