China’s railway passenger volume, passenger turnover, and other key passenger transport indicators rank first in the world

Reporters learned from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Railway) that from January to November of this year, the national railways served a cumulative 4.008 billion passenger trips, marking the first time the annual passenger volume surpassed the 4 billion threshold and setting a new historical record. China’s railway passenger volume and passenger turnover, among other key passenger transport indicators, firmly hold the top spot globally.

According to relevant officials from the Passenger Transport Department of China Railway, the company has thoroughly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to a people-centered development philosophy, accelerated the construction of a modern railway transport service system, focused on people’s aspirations for a better travel experience, fully leveraged the developed and improved high-speed rail network and modern railway network, continuously enhanced the capacity and quality of railway passenger services, effectively served the people’s safe, orderly, and comfortable travel as well as the stable operation of the national economy, and injected strong momentum into the prosperous development of a “mobile China.”

The benefits of the developed railway network have been unleashed, and passenger transport capacity has continued to increase. This year, new lines such as the Chizhou-Huangshan High-Speed Rail and the Lanzhou-Zhangye High-Speed Rail’s Zhongchuan Airport to Wuwei East section have been completed and opened for operation. The modern railway network has become increasingly dense, with the national railway operating mileage surpassing 160,000 kilometers, including over 46,000 kilometers of high-speed rail. More than 3,300 railway passenger stations have been built and put into use, with over 1,300 being high-speed rail stations. The railway network now covers 99% of cities with a population of over 200,000 and the high-speed rail network covers 97% of cities with a population of over 500,000. Cities like Wuwei and Zhaoyuan have entered the high-speed rail era. The significant leap in the scale and quality of the railway network, especially the high-speed rail network, has expanded railway passenger transport capacity, improved network connectivity and coverage, and enabled Fuxing trains to run across the vast land of the country, providing strong support for promoting the flow of people, industrial linkage, and economic interaction along the routes. From January to November, the national railways served 4.008 billion passenger trips, setting a new record, and completed a passenger turnover of 1,492.701 billion person-kilometers, accounting for nearly half of the total passenger turnover in society. The backbone role of railway passenger transport has become more prominent.

The line and equipment resources have been fully utilized, and passenger transport service products have become increasingly diverse. Actively adapting to passenger travel demands, China Railway has promoted supply-side structural reforms in railway transport, comprehensively utilized line, station, and equipment resources, and built a product portfolio of passenger trains led by Fuxing trains, covering different speed levels, complementing high-speed and conventional trains, offering a full range of categories, a reasonable structure, and sufficient supply. Fuxing high-speed trains operate at a maximum speed of 350 km/h, providing passengers with diverse travel options. By fully leveraging the big data from the railway’s 12306 system, scientifically analyzing passenger travel patterns, dynamically optimizing and adjusting passenger train operation plans, and timely increasing transport capacity in popular directions or on routes, China Railway has precisely matched transport capacity with passenger demand to facilitate passenger travel. The company has actively served the tourism and silver-haired economies by launching a series of distinctive tourist train brands such as the “Silk Road Dream Express” and the “Panda Special Train,” which have been well-received by the market.

Improvements have been made to station and train service measures, enhancing the passenger travel experience. The 2024 edition of the “Regulations on Railway Passenger Transport of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.” has been implemented, introducing a series of new measures to benefit and facilitate the people. The railway’s 12306 system has innovatively introduced features such as through-train ticket booking and online seat selection, promoted comprehensive digital electronic invoices for passenger services, and expanded the coverage of ride passes and periodic tickets to 60 lines, tourism package tickets to 11 lines, and railway QR codes to all high-speed trains. Convenient transfers are available at 120 stations nationwide, 31 stations offer subway rides without security checks for arriving railway passengers, 84 stations provide internet meal ordering services, and “quiet carriages” are available on 92 high-speed trains. The rules for transporting key passengers such as the elderly, children, the sick, the disabled, and pregnant women have been optimized, making their travel more comfortable and convenient. Civilized travel has been actively promoted, creating a warm and comfortable travel environment.

China Railway has contributed to economic and social development and effectively supported a “mobile China.” The continuous improvement in railway passenger transport capacity and quality has significantly enhanced people’s travel conditions and injected vitality into economic and social development. The extensive high-speed rail network has shortened spatiotemporal distances, effectively promoting the integrated development of regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, creating a “same-city effect,” accelerating the flow of people, logistics, capital, and information, and effectively serving regional development. China Railway has insisted on operating public-welfare “slow trains” and revitalization trains to enhance the inclusivity, balance, and accessibility of railway passenger services, facilitating convenient travel and income generation for people along the routes. The company has actively promoted the integrated development of railways and tourism, collaborated with scenic spots and hotels, created new consumption scenarios, launched high-quality tourist routes, attracted a large influx of tourists, and boosted the tourism economy. Since the beginning of this year, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Rail has served 24.345 million cross-border passengers, a year-on-year increase of 37.2%, and the China-Laos Railway has served 249,000 cross-border passengers, effectively facilitating cross-border personnel exchanges, cultural exchanges, and business cooperation.

The official stated that in the next step, China Railway will closely monitor changes in passenger demand, fully utilize the newly opened lines, stations, and equipment resources at the end of the year, optimize train operation plans, prepare for the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush in advance, and continuously improve the quality of station and train services to ensure the safe, orderly, and comfortable travel of passengers.