China vs India: Rail lines (total route-km)
China
109,767 total route-km
in 2021
India
68,103 total route-km
in 2021
China rank
2nd
India rank
4th
Rail lines (total route-km) over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 109,767 total route-km against 68,103 total route-km in India, a difference of 41,664 total route-km.
That makes China's figure about 1.6 times India's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 27 shared years of data; in 1995 it was India ahead.
China ranks 2nd and India ranks 4th of 104 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and India in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 56,767 total route-km | 62,721 total route-km | 5,954 total route-km | India |
| 2000s | 61,427 total route-km | 63,270 total route-km | 1,843 total route-km | India |
| 2010s | 86,339 total route-km | 66,103 total route-km | 20,237 total route-km | China |
| 2020s | 108,001 total route-km | 68,029 total route-km | 39,972 total route-km | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rail lines, China or India?
- China, at 109,767 total route-km against 68,103 total route-km in India as of 2021.
- What is the difference in rail lines between China and India?
- 41,664 total route-km, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.
- How do China and India rank globally for rail lines?
- China ranks 2nd and India ranks 4th of 104 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Rail lines (total route-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.