While China boasts about its high-speed trains, there are others that travel at 40 km/h and are just as important

China still operates 81 slow, low-cost rail lines that stop at every station and serve remote rural communities.

Fares have been frozen for decades, making these trains a key lifeline for education, healthcare, and basic mobility.

The routes also support local commerce and rural economies, showing a social rail network that complements high-speed rail.

In regions like Sichuan and Yunnan, trains such as No. 5633 remain essential public-service infrastructure.