China's railway investment in infrastructure in the first month of 2012 decreased by 76 percent year-on-year to 8.7 billion yuan, hitting the lowest point since 2009, the Economic Information reported Thursday, citing statistics from the Ministry of Railway (MOR) website.

The railway fixed-asset investment reached 12.2 billion yuan, down 69.6 percent from the same period last year, according to MOR.

Wang Mengshu, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told the newspaper that the sudden decrease in railway investment is partly because many construction projects were stopped during the Spring Festival. Many funds were not in place, he added.

At a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday, it was pointed out that private capital was encouraged to enter sectors like the rail industry.

Wang said allowing private capital into railway construction is beneficial as the infrastructure construction of railways needs huge amounts of money. However, good allocation plans and profits must be ensured in order to attract the private capital, he added.