BEIJING (REUTERS) - China will start construction of 10,000km of intercity and urban railway over the next five years in Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei areas, the state planner said on Friday (Dec 4).

The Greater Bay area is a region that includes Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in China's southern Guangdong province.

China plans to expand its railway network, the second largest in the world, by one-third in the next decade and a half, as part of a long-term plan to rev up urbanisation and stimulate local economies.

The country aims to have about 200,000km of railway tracks by the end of 2035, including about 70,000km of high-speed railway, according to the plan issued by state-owned China State Railway Group in August.