China will construct 6,366 kilometers of new railways in 2012, including 3,500 kilometers of high-speed lines, People's Daily reported on Thursday.

The year 2012 will be a historic year in China's railway history with the highest number of new lines scheduled to be constructed. Meanwhile, high-speed railway lines will surpass 10,000 kilometers.

Once the new high-speed line is put into service, the travel time from Beijing to Shenzhen in South China's Guandong province will be reduced to eight hours from the current fastest time of 23 hours. 

Confronted with such a massive construction project, the railway ministry expressed its determination to guarantee the construction quality, saying they will solve any hidden quality issues before operation.

The railway ministry has also launched an overhaul over all projects under construction started since 2003.