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

Reporter learned from China Railway Corporation (hereinafter referred to as CRC) that from January to November this year, the national railways have served a cumulative 4.008 billion passenger trips, marking the first time the annual passenger volume has 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 CRC’s Passenger Transport Department, CRC 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 people’s aspirations for a better travel experience, fully leveraged the developed and improved high-speed rail network and modern railway network, and continuously enhanced the capacity and quality of railway passenger services. These efforts have effectively served the people with safe, orderly, and comfortable travel options and facilitated the steady operation of the national economy, injecting strong momentum into the prosperous development of a “mobile China.”
The benefits of the developed railway network have been unleashed, leading to a continuous increase in passenger transport capacity. 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 to traffic. 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 capacity, improved network connectivity and coverage, and enabled Fuxing trains to run across the vast land of China, 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 social passenger turnover. The backbone role of railway passenger transport has become more prominent.
The effective utilization of line and equipment resources has led to an increasingly diverse range of passenger transport service products. In response to passenger travel demands, CRC has promoted supply-side structural reforms in railway transport, coordinated the use of 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, with a complete 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 diversified travel options. By fully leveraging the big data of the railway’s 12306 system, CRC scientifically analyzes passenger travel patterns, dynamically optimizes and adjusts passenger train operation plans, promptly increases transport capacity in popular directions or on routes, and precisely matches transport capacity with passenger demand to facilitate passenger travel. CRC has actively served 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 in station and train service measures have enhanced the passenger travel experience. The implementation of the 2024 edition of the “Regulations on Railway Passenger Transport of China Railway Corporation” has introduced a series of new measures to benefit and facilitate the people. The railway’s 12306 system has innovatively launched features such as same-train connection and online seat selection, promoted fully digital electronic invoices for passenger services, and expanded the coverage of ride passes and periodic tickets to 60 lines, tourism packages to 11 lines, and railway QR codes to all high-speed trains. Convenient transfers are available at 120 stations nationwide, 31 stations offer rail passengers a security check-free transfer to the subway, 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, patients, disabled, and pregnant women have been optimized, making their travel more comfortable and convenient. CRC actively promotes civilized travel and creates a warm and comfortable travel environment.
The continuous improvement of railway passenger transport capacity and quality has greatly enhanced people’s travel conditions and injected vitality into economic and social development, effectively supporting a “mobile China.” The extensive high-speed rail network has shortened travel times and distances, significantly 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” and accelerating the flow of people, goods, capital, and information. CRC persists 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 residents along the routes. CRC actively promotes the integrated development of railways and tourism, collaborates with scenic spots and hotels, creates new consumption scenarios, and launches high-quality tourism routes, attracting a large influx of tourists and boosting 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, CRC will closely monitor changes in passenger demand, make good use of the new lines, stations, and equipment resources that will be opened by 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 safe, orderly, and comfortable travel for passengers.