The soaring demand for rail freight services in China is putting an incredible amount of strain on the nation's infrastructure.

New research conducted by IBISWorld showed that industry revenue has been growing by 7.5 per cent annually over the past five years and the sector is set to be worth $32.6 billion (£23.7 billion) in 2013.

In order to accommodate this extra demand, the Chinese government has outlined plans to invest 216 billion into the country's railways by 2020. This will involve laying lengthy stretches of new track, ensuring the nation's network covers 120,000 km.

The authorities are also overhauling the way rail services are operated and the Railway Ministry will be replaced by the China Railway Corporation.

Rail freight is vitally important to countries that have pollution problems and China certainly fits into this category.

The government is always looking for ways to curb the country's carbon emissions and transferring cargo deliveries from the roads on to rail is a good way to achieve this.