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, remain at the top globally.

According to relevant officials from CRC’s Passenger Transport Department, CRC has thoroughly implemented the decisions and deployments of the CPC 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, and effectively served the people’s safe, orderly, and comfortable travel as well as 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, 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 era of high-speed rail. 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. 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, offering a full range of categories, having a reasonable structure, and providing sufficient supply, with Fuxing high-speed trains operating at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, offering passengers a variety of 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, the matching of transport capacity and passenger demand has been precisely aligned to facilitate passenger travel. Active efforts have been made to serve the tourism economy and the silver-haired economy, with the launch of 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 Railway Corporation” 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 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 QR codes for railway services 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, patients, disabled individuals, and pregnant women have been optimized to make their travel more comfortable and convenient. Civilized travel has been actively promoted, creating a warm and comfortable travel environment.

Efforts have been made to promote economic and social development and effectively support a “mobile China.” The continuous improvement in railway passenger transport capacity and quality has greatly 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. CRC 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 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, fully utilize the new lines, stations, and equipment resources that will be opened by the end of the year, optimize train operation plans, make early preparations for the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush, continuously improve the quality of station and train services, and ensure that passengers can travel safely, orderly, and comfortably.