China’s rail network is actually divided into two separate networks high speed passenger rail and freight rail.
The freight rail is much less extensive and in parts where it is mixed use passenger rail gets the priority.
Retooling the entire system to be freight-friendly would require massive projects: new dedicated freight lines, rail spurs to thousands of industrial parks, land acquisition, and years of construction.
Meanwhile, trucks already do last mile delivery, and China already has a robust EV supply chain.
Surprised freight isn’t mostly done via train considering their vast networks.
After the train does its part, there’s still trucks needed to bring the freight to its final destination.
To add some context for anyone seeing this later:
China’s rail network is actually divided into two separate networks high speed passenger rail and freight rail.
The freight rail is much less extensive and in parts where it is mixed use passenger rail gets the priority.
Retooling the entire system to be freight-friendly would require massive projects: new dedicated freight lines, rail spurs to thousands of industrial parks, land acquisition, and years of construction.
Meanwhile, trucks already do last mile delivery, and China already has a robust EV supply chain.