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

According to relevant personnel from the Passenger Transport Department of China Railway, the company has thoroughly implemented the decisions and deployments 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 the 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 steady 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 Zhongchuan Airport-Wuwei East Section of the Lanzhou-Zhangye High-Speed Rail 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 of them 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 seen Fuxing trains running 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. Efforts have been made to actively adapt to passenger travel demands, promote supply-side structural reforms in railway transport, coordinate the use of line, station, and equipment resources, and build a product portfolio of passenger trains led by Fuxing trains, covering different speed levels, complementing high-speed and conventional trains, with a complete range of categories, a reasonable structure, and sufficient supply. Fuxing EMU trains operate at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, providing passengers with diversified travel options. The railway’s 12306 big data has been fully utilized to scientifically analyze passenger travel patterns, dynamically optimize and adjust passenger train operation plans, promptly increase transport capacity in popular directions or routes, precisely match transport capacity with passenger demand, and facilitate passenger travel. Efforts have also been made to actively serve the tourism economy and the silver-haired economy by creating a series of distinctive tourist train brands such as “Silk Road Dream Express” and “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 platform has innovatively introduced features such as through-train connections and online seat selection, promoted comprehensive digital electronic invoicing services for passenger transport, 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 EMU 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 EMU trains. The rules for transporting key passengers such as the elderly, infants, sick, 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.

Railway development has contributed to economic and social progress, effectively supporting a “mobile China.” The continuous improvement of 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 persisted in 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. Active efforts have been made to promote the integrated development of railways and tourism, collaborate with scenic spots and hotels, create new consumption scenarios, and launch high-quality tourist routes, attracting a large influx of tourists and boosting the tourism economy. Since the beginning of this year, the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link has served 24.345 million cross-border passenger trips, a year-on-year increase of 37.2%, and the China-Laos Railway has served 249,000 cross-border passenger trips, 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 newly commissioned 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.