Liu Zhenfang, former Deputy General Manager of China State Railway Group (China Railway), has been appointed head of the National Railway Administration, a vice ministerial-level post that was vacant for nearly a year.

The 58-year-old has worked in the railway sector for over 30 years. He started out as an engineer with the Beijing Railway Bureau in Datong in north China in 1983. He worked his way up to become deputy director of the branch in 2000. He was director of the Kunming Railway Bureau in southwest China from 2011 to 2013.

In 2013, the Ministry of Railways split into the National Railway Administration and China Railway. Liu was director of the Nanchang Railway Bureau under China Railway from 2013 to 2014 and director of the Beijing Railway Bureau from 2014 to 2017.