Beijing ( CNN ) -- With less than half an hour to spare , Chen Zhu calmly emerged from the subway station connected to the massive Beijing West Railway Station with a small , wheeled bag . Upon retrieving her ticket from a kiosk , Chen breezed through the security checkpoint before scanning her ticket to open an automated gate leading to the platform . Five minutes after boarding , she was reading a book as her bullet train pulled out of the station precisely on time . For this young journalist who frequently travels for work , these steps have become part of an increasingly appealing routine amid worsening air traffic congestion at major airports across China . `` Flights out of Beijing are always delayed , '' Chen said . `` Door to door , high-speed trains are often faster than flying for me . `` I usually get to the station last minute and board the train right before departure . The service is just so punctual . '' China 's fast-expanding high-speed rail network is now the world 's busiest with daily ridership exceeding 1.3 million . On morning of Chen 's journey , train G511 raced through the countryside at 300 kmph ( 186 mph ) from Beijing to the central city of Wuhan in just five hours -- less than half the time of the regular rail route . The new link between Beijing and Wuhan opened last December and added to what has become the world 's longest high-speed rail line , running almost 2,300 kilometers ( 1,429 miles ) from the Chinese capital to the southern metropolis of Guangzhou . Read more : What female business travelers want in hotels . Although Chen still prefers to fly on longer routes , she says on business trips shorter than six hours , the choice of train over plane is now a no-brainer . `` I work or read on the train , '' she said , highlighting the benefit of uninterrupted mobile phone reception . `` It 's great that everyone has access to a power outlet . '' At $ 85 , her second-class seat costs less than half of a full-fare economy-class plane ticket on this major business route . Now the world 's second-largest economy , and flush with cash , China has been busy purchasing foreign rail technologies and building high-speed lines . The Chinese government , which owns and operates all domestic rail companies , launched the country 's first high-speed service in 2007 and now boasts 9,300 kilometers ( 5,778 miles ) of high-speed routes nationwide , turning a nonexistent network into the world 's longest in a few short years . `` In less than a decade , we constructed more high-speed rail lines than what it took Japan and Europe 40 years to build , '' said Zhao Jian , an economics professor at Beijing Jiaotong University and one of the country 's leading experts on rail transportation . `` We 've had such amazing growth because land expropriation is cheap and so is labor , '' he explained . `` You also have the economy of scale -- other countries usually build a few hundred kilometers of tracks , but in China we 're talking about thousands of kilometers . '' Read more : Want an office with room service ? Although Zhao is often cited as a skeptical voice in the development of high-speed rail in China , even he is impressed after taking a few rides . `` I 've taken high-speed trains in Japan , Germany , France , South Korea and Taiwan , '' he said . `` Ours offer the smoothest and fastest ride in the world . '' The massive investments and rapid construction , however , have raised public concerns over the new service 's safety record and commercial viability , amid state media reports of empty trains traveling between inconvenient new stations in less-developed provinces . Already , rail officials have slowed down some bullet trains -- originally planned to run as fast as 380 kmph ( 236 mph ) -- to make the service safer and cheaper . `` Raising the speed to 350kmph ( 217 mph ) or 380 kmph ( 236 mph ) would lower built-in safety redundancies , and greatly increase wear-and-tear and operating costs , '' Zhao said . `` It 's not the faster , the better . '' During most of her journey , Chen 's train was only half full , but that has n't dampened her enthusiasm for her favorite mode of transportation . `` I think in parts of the country , taking high-speed trains will be like taking buses in the future , '' she said . The Chinese government is reportedly spending some $ 300 billion to make that vision a reality , moving full steam ahead on its plan to build a 25,000-kilometer ( 15,534 mile ) high-speed rail network by 2020 .
China 's high-speed rail network is now the world 's busiest with daily ridership exceeding 1.3 million . China launched the country 's first high-speed service in 2007 . Comment: The government plans to complete a 25,000-kilometer high-speed network by 2020 .