How big is China's high-speed rail network?

More than 50,000 kilometers: 50,400 km at the end of 2025, up from 37,900 km in 2020, according to China State Railway Group. China plans about 60,000 km of high-speed rail by 2030.

Which Chinese universities are known for railway engineering?

In our database: Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Beijing Jiaotong University and Central South University in Changsha.

What do I need for a transportation bachelor's in China?

For the Chinese-taught programs in our database: a high-school diploma, HSK 5 with at least 180 points, and CSCA scores in mathematics, physics and professional Chinese (science).

Studying High-Speed Rail and Transportation Engineering in China

Where international students can study railway, rail transit and transportation engineering in China: the specialist universities, real programs and requirements.

China has the world's largest high-speed rail network. At the end of 2025 it had 50,400 kilometers of high-speed lines, up from 37,900 km in 2020, and 165,000 km of railway in total, according to China State Railway Group. It plans about 60,000 km of high-speed rail by 2030. The universities that trained the engineers behind it teach international students too.

The specialist universities

University	City	What it is known for
Southwest Jiaotong University	Chengdu	Railway, civil and transportation engineering
Beijing Jiaotong University	Beijing	Rail transport, transportation engineering and logistics management
Central South University	Changsha	Metallurgy and materials, rail transport engineering and medicine. Tuition in our database: master's 25,000–48,000 CNY, PhD 32,000–55,000 CNY a year

All three teach some programs in English as well as in Chinese. Check each program, because the teaching language varies.

Programs in our database

From each university's own 2026 admission catalog. Tuition is per year.

University	Program	Level and language	Tuition	Entry requirements
Sun Yat-sen University	Smart Transportation (智慧交通, School of Intelligent Systems Engineering), 4 years	Bachelor's, Chinese	33,800 CNY	HSK 5 (180+); CSCA mathematics, physics, professional Chinese (science)
Zhejiang University	Civil, Hydraulic and Transportation Engineering (College of Civil Engineering and Architecture), 4 years	Bachelor's, Chinese	24,800 CNY	HSK 5 (180+); CSCA mathematics, physics, professional Chinese (science)

Zhejiang admits students to this program as a broad category covering civil, hydraulic and transportation engineering. We are adding the specialist universities' catalogs to our program search.

What the programs are called

Level	Program names
Bachelor's	Railway Engineering, Traffic and Transportation (交通运输), Transportation Engineering (交通工程), Rail Transit Signaling and Control (轨道交通信号与控制), Vehicle Engineering, Smart Transportation (智慧交通)
Master's and PhD	Transportation Engineering, Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Civil Engineering

Rail Transit Signaling and Control (code 080802T) is one of the newer majors: universities registered seven new programs in it in 2018.

How to get in

Bachelor's (mostly taught in Chinese): expect HSK 5 and the CSCA in mathematics, physics and professional Chinese (science). See Learn Chinese first, then start your degree and our CSCA guide.

Master's and PhD: a background in civil, mechanical, electrical or transportation engineering is usual. Contact supervisors early. The Chinese Government Scholarship covers master's and PhD students.

Tips

Railway is many subjects. Track and bridges are civil engineering, trains are vehicle and mechanical engineering, and signaling is electrical and control engineering. Choose by the part that interests you.
Practical training matters. Ask how the program arranges field training, and remember that internships need your university's approval (see our guide to part-time work and internships).
Use the network. As a student you can travel across China by high-speed train; see our student life guide.