Shanxi province is a vital rail hub in North China, with a high-speed railway network currently under construction, according to local officials. 

There are many north-south and east-west railways running across the province, which connect most of the big and medium-sized cities in North China, they said. 

These include the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway, Beijing-Baotou Railway and Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway, Datong-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway and the Datong-Xi'an High-speed Railway. 

Last year, the volume of passenger transport by rail through Shanxi province hit 81.53 million, for year-on-year growth of 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the cargo transport volume of railways in Shanxi province amounted to 913.21 million metric tons, up 7.1 percent year on year.