China’s High-Speed Rail Is Dead: Over 4,000 Ghostly Stations, Billions Spent, No Passengers

This is China’s loneliest high-speed railway station, surrounded by wheat fields, cornfields, and barren land, with nothing else in sight. This is Gongyi South Station in Henan Province. It is uniquely built right in the middle of a wheat field. As passengers step out of the station, they are greeted by an endless expanse of wheat fields with no residential areas nearby, making this station appear extra aloof and extraordinary.
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[frankgutierrez]

Even in the middle of nowhere, there is smog.

[junkscience]

Here's what everyone forgets. Yes, these projects were a waste financially...but that wasn't fully realized until recently. Following their local completion, the local CCP authorities were praised and rewarded for "building the future"...and these cadres haven't disappeared, in fact, they've been PROMOTED to even higher positions, where their ability to enrich has only GROWN! THAT was the REAL reward for these Xi Minions....let the new peons deal with the legacy of past actions.

[jamesrawlins]

The secret of China's rapid economic growth in the 90s through the early 2010s - expand, build, build, build - is also the reason why their economy is tanking to a major disaster.

[jonlee]

Corruption drives the construction of massively expensive projects without regard to the needs of the people. A lot of people got very rich while the country just got poorer and more polluted.

[harmony]

These infrastructure was built to inflate the GDP figures so that they look impressive and also for other purposes 🤭

[TBABBAGE]

My wife's village is has a high speed rail line in the middle of nowhere. People from all around the area use it. It has 4 trains every day two in one direction and two in the other. It's very convenient as a bus would be like 4-5 hours, but the train does it in 2 or less.

It's in the middle of nowhere because it's on the main line, they don't move the line, they just build a station there, and it gets used.

[mughug]

Suspect one of the issues with China is that the CCP wanted to play modern society catch up with the West in an unrealistic short time, considering what they had to start with and their society. The CCP seemed to forget it took 100s of years for the West to get where it is and there was a lot of trial, error and abuse on the way. With the CCP, it seems that they tried to condense all of that and there were too many unrealistic and ill-conceived plans and an unrealistic timeline. On the surface, it seemed fine in the short-term, but seems like it was not sustainable long-term and doomed to fail more many reasons.

In addition, they seem to forget the importance of a honest and democratic international relationships to the health and economy of a country when it depends on it's international conduct and reputation for trade. Their exceptional poor treatment of other countries has come back to bite them badly. Talk about shooting themselves in the foot. The CCP looked at the West and learnt all the wrong lessons instead of learning from the mistakes of the West.

[jiminauburn]

I was in China last month. I rode on a couple of high speed rail lines while there. I saw several train stations where we stopped, where only a couple people got on or off. There would be these huge train stations, and they looked abandoned. There was grass growing up among the rail lines on other tracks. Grass growing up around the entire station, dirt drifts building up on platforms. It was not a matter of it just not being used yet. It looked like what you would expect for something that was built and then left to the elements and not used for a decade or more.

[markvogel]

So France has high speed lines with stations in more rural areas between major cities but usually they are connected to the cities they are supposed to serve with transit.

[elya]

Those empty projects sound like moneylaundering

[oldguy]

California says: "Hold my beer." Billions spent, No stations, no trains, and an incomplete railway between Fresno and Bakersfield.

[LagrangePoint]

Ah yes, the commiunist philosophy of looking good is more important than being good.

[SlowAlex]

These stations are part of Beijing’s failed authoritarian efforts. No matter how fancy they look, they are never meant in the interest of the public, but a name in which CCP officials conspire to steal. In a country of an unprecedented high-tech prison, where wealth is highly concentrated on those in power, where commoners toil for sustenance, how do you expect the plebeians to do the economy a favor that is outright not theirs.

To me, splurging in China is as criminal as imprudent. Every penny you cost funds nothing but avarice and thus the regime. The ticket fair you pay is what a minister in railway is coveting. Even the piffling money for a bottle of purified water chips in the LVs they flaunt. In short, it’s not up to the populace for the greed and follies of a few.

[AK-wnri]

I was travelling from interior China to Beijing after visiting a resort opened by a friend, for most part of the journey I was alone in the compartment of HSR. People started boarding only when we reached outskirts of Beijing. I asked my friend and he said that train is full only during Chinese new year, rest of the year it runs mostly empty.

[JTA]

Maintaining the appearance of progress is like lying to cover a lie...sooner or later somebody's gonna cry.

[sensi]

Instead of invading Taiwan, maybe the Chinese government should reflect on why everything is going wrong for them. Their people deserve better and a government that serves them, not destroys their entire culture and economy through being demented war mongers 💙💛

[fredEVOIX]

100 passengers in such a populated country is incredible as if lost people wandered in the station by mistake

[jogi_]

Whats the Problem ?? in Germany, nearly all stations are overcrowded since 30 years. From my view, it is ok, to build up an infrastructure, which serves the needs for the next 40 to 50 years without any extra costs to expand...

[Shayne]

Eventhough I am anti China as Chinese, been to 12 countries accross the world, not much. but, what video said is something like train station build in some of rural counties with less population and human transportation. the purpose of building its station because is lift poverty. you might better understand China before you put any ignorant comments. Seems you come from capitalized country that only cares shorter period of ROI instead of long term (development of local economy) . China now open up for most EU countries, Australia & Newzealand for 14 days visa free entry, you might find chance to check it out your own. BTW, the video you have showed some station is not even train station, its subway station underconstruction, and seems you dont know how fast those area will be modernized.

[MrMrsKwang]

Somebody explained this phenomenon before, its like building 10 water wells in 1 village. Politicians basically build too many of these because theres money to be pocketed.