China's rail network is to be broken up into at least five companies based on geography, the South China Morning Post reported, citing undisclosed sources. Details of the plan are set to be discussed at the 17th Communist Party Congress in the autumn. The rail network is currently split up into 16 bureaus run under the Ministry of Railways with the Jinan railway bureau, for example, responsible for 2,793 kilometers of track and 334 stations in Shandong province. This move towards increased efficiency is likely to be accompanied by higher prices. Tariffs for cargo are expected to rise 20-50% over the next two years. Basic passenger fares are expected to stay, although efforts will be made to offer a value-added experience to China's growing middle and upper classes. Passenger traffic grew 9% to 1.26 billion people last year, while cargo traffic hit 2.87 billion metric tons. About 17,000km of new track will be laid by 2010 – 7,000km for the exclusive use of passenger transport – taking the total railway network to 90,000km.