BEIJING — The length of trunk railways in service in the Yangtze River Delta region will reach about 17,000 kilometers by 2025, including about 8,000 km of high-speed railways, says a plan issued by the country's economic planner.

The railway network will connect all the cities with more than 200,000 permanent residents in urban areas, and all cities at prefecture or higher level will be connected by high-speed railways, says the plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The plan also stresses the construction of a multilayered network of rail services, including trunk railways, intercity railways, urban and suburban railways and urban rail transit.

By 2025, the total length of rail transit, including those mentioned above, will reach about 22,000 km, and of the total, about 8,000 km will be newly constructed, the plan says.