This paper, proceeding from China's actual conditions, holds that in the construction of Beijing — Shanghai express railway China should choose “the optimal” instead of “the fastest”. For the long and medium distance the passenger train which “starts at sunset and arrives at daybreak” has the optimal cost performance. The paper maintains that the electrified fast-speed wheel/rail system with a speed of 200 km per hour should be the best choice for China*s railway development. It accords with not only the demands of the development of real socio-economic base of China, which is vast in territory, but also the demands of the future development of China and the world as well. In the time with increasing energy crisis, the maglev train with speed of 400 km per hour and the high-speed rail system with speed of 300 km per hour will lead to the unbearable wastes of socio-economic resources and huge loss in operation.