Railway network handles 2.8b passengers, setting new record

China's railway network handled 2.8 billion passenger trips in the first seven months of 2026, up 4.1 percent year-on-year and setting a new record, China State Railway Group, the national railway operator, said on Saturday.

During the January-July period, the average number of daily passenger trains reached 11,462, an increase of 571 trains or 5.2 percent year-on-year, it said in a release. During the period, new sections of high-speed railway opened to extend the network and improved connectivity.

The railway operator leveraged big data from its 12306 ticketing and waitlist systems to better match supply with demand, adding temporary trains and operating multiple-unit trains in coupled formations on popular routes and during peak hours to accommodate passenger needs.

Meanwhile, China's visa-free transit policies have contributed to a surge in cross-border travel. In the first seven months, the railway network handled 14.85 million trips by foreign passengers, up 32.5 percent year-on-year.

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link recorded 20.05 million cross-border passenger trips, up 11.5 percent, while the China-Laos Railway handled 214,000 such trips, a 38.2 percent increase.

International train services connecting China with Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea also operated steadily, facilitating cross-border tourism.

To cater to growing summer travel demand, the railway operator worked with local tourism authorities to upgrade tourist trains and increase frequencies.

By the end of July, a total of 2,159 tourist trains had been operated nationwide this year. An additional 79 customized trains, such as those for concert-goers and sports fans, were also deployed, reflecting deeper integration of railway and tourism sectors to boost consumption.