The money earned by passenger transport will not exceed 20% of the total profit. In addition, if the input cost is included in the railway construction, the high-speed rail will definitely lose money!
Due to the continuous investment in high-speed rail construction for many years, the debt has been increasing, and the loan interest (financial expenses) has increased the cost, making it difficult to make a profit for the time being. But from the economic theory, as long as it can maintain a huge cash flow (operating income), even if there is no profit all the year round, it is no problem to maintain it. In addition, the railway is related to national strategic events, and the country will unswervingly support the railway system, so the future development can still be expected.
Extended data:
1. Why does China Railway lose money every year, but expand every year?
Because the railway is a means of transportation for most people in China, it is related to people's livelihood, so even if they lose money, they have to expand.
China's railways have always been financially supported. Unlike aviation and highways, railways are run by enterprises and managed by the State Railway Administration. Railways are all managed by railway departments from project establishment, design to final operation. Because the railway is the means of transportation for most people to travel far away, it is necessary to keep the railway cost stable. Only in this way can everyone afford this expense and travel around the country better. If you want to develop the local economy, you must repair the traffic roads. As the saying goes, "If you want to be rich, you should build roads first", which will make it easier for people to go out and the economy will develop.
2) Why did the high-speed rail lose money for a long time?
The construction and operation cost of high-speed rail is still one of the main reasons for its losses. Operating costs can be mainly divided into three parts: first, direct variable costs, including electricity, labor, maintenance and general material consumption; One is the depreciation of vehicles and lines; Then there is the financial cost, that is, the annual loan and loan interest paid when building the high-speed rail. This alone is a huge sum of money. However, at present, the operating cost of high-speed rail in China is high, which has not been well controlled and even caused "waste". First, even in the off-season of passenger transport, most trains are still running, and the maintenance of equipment and the wages of employees are not a small expense. Second, the speed increase of high-speed rail is also controversial.
The profitability of high-speed rail is closely related to the population density along its route. The profitability of high-speed rail in the Yangtze River Delta region is outstanding, following the logic of "demographic dividend". Compared with these densely populated and economically developed areas, many high-speed rail operations leading to the western region are very embarrassing.
Competition from other modes of transportation. In recent years, with the opening of more and more high-speed rail lines, the speed is getting faster and faster, and it has more price advantages than airplanes. It has become the common sense of more and more people to choose high-speed rail travel. However, the improvement of highway and aviation industry and the rapid growth of expressway have reduced the competitiveness of high-speed rail. It has been found that once you take the high-speed train for more than 4 hours, air travel is still the mainstream choice, regardless of time or price.