1996-22, Railway Construction《铁路建设》

Stamp Title: Railway Construction
Scott No: 2713, 2714, 2715, 2716
Serial number: 1996-22
Values in set: 4
(4-1), Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway, 15 fen, 50*30mm
(4-2), Lanzhou-Xinjiang Double Tracking, 20 fen, 50*30mm
(4-3), Beijing-Kowloon Railway, 50 fen, 50*30mm
(4-4), Beijing Western Railway Station, 100 fen, 50*30mm
Date of issue: September 1, 1996
Designers: Li Yingqing
Size of stamp: 50*30mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 32
Printing process: gravure

120 years has flowed on since China’s first business railway-Wusong Railway started operation.

China owned only more than 20,000 kilometers railway since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Since then the construction of railway has been developed rapidly and by the end of1995 the length of railway in operation has totaled 60,000 kilometers. It is expected that by 2000, China’s railway in operation will extend to nearly 70,000 kilometers. The 238 km Beijing-Kowloon Railway, the largest-scale railway project the country ever launched, opened to traffic in September 1996. It is the longest artery railway in Chinese railway history, which worked successfully on its first test run. Starting from the newly-constructed Beijing Western Station, the railway runs across Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong, arriving at Shenzhen to link with Hong Kong and kowloon. With the main station building 102 meters tall, The Beijing Western Station, operating on January 21,1996, is the largest passenger railway station in Asia. It is 740 meters long form east to west, and can handle 93 couples of passenger trains at the same time.

The country’s railway sector also has made marked achievements in applying new technologies. In 1960s, the first electric railway – Baoji-Chengdu Railway was built. The first Chinese two-way electric railway-from Datong to Qinhuangdao, was opened to traffic on January 22,1993. Meanwhile, china has also made progress in accelerating the speed of passenger trains. The Guang (Guangzhou) – Shen (Shenzhen) Railway, opened to traffic in September 1994, boasted a speed of 160 kilometers an hour, the highest speed among Chinese passenger trains.

1996年特种邮票《铁路建设》
国家邮政局1996年9月1日发行《铁路建设》特种邮票1套4枚。
（4-1）T 大秦铁路 15 分 2105.7万枚
（4-2）T 兰新铁路复线 20 分 3672.1万枚
（4-3）T 京九铁路 50 分 2707.3万枚
（4-4）T 北京西站 100 分 2044.9万枚

志号名称：1996-22T
版别：影写
整版枚数：32 枚
全套面值：1.85元
邮票规格：50 × 30毫米
齿孔度数：12 度
设计者：李印清
印制机构：北京邮票厂
建国四十多年时，我国铁路事业迅猛发展。全国大陆已形成四纵三横的铁路网骨架，陆续建成了成渝、宝成、川黔、成昆、兰新、大秦、鹰厦、京九等大型铁路干线，新建铁路总长近三万公里。目前除西藏外，内陆各省市、自治区人民政府所在地，都有旅客快车直达北京。

铁路将我国边疆、沿海、内陆地区紧密联系起来，在经济和政治生活中发挥着越来越重要的作用。此套邮票从桥、隧、站、线的角度表现近年来我国铁路建设的重大成就。