In the first three quarters, 3.71 billion railway passengers were sent nationwide, setting a new historical high for the same period
On October 18th, China Railway Group released data showing that in the first three quarters of 2026, the country's railways had sent a total of 3.71 billion passengers, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%, and the total number of passengers sent reached a historical high for the same period.
Since the beginning of this year, China Railway Group has coordinated the transportation resources of high-speed and conventional railways, fully released the transportation capacity of newly opened lines, and relied on the increase in transportation capacity brought by the opening of new lines and stations such as the Xiong'an to Shangqiu section of the Beijing Hong Kong high-speed railway, the Xi'an to Ankang section of the West Chongqing high-speed railway, the Yichang to Xingshan high-speed railway, and the Harbin to Yichun high-speed railway. Through dynamic analysis of 12306 ticketing big data, timely additional trains have been added for popular travel directions. In the first three quarters, a total of 11511 passenger trains were scheduled to operate daily on national railways, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. The transportation guarantee tasks for key holidays such as Spring Festival travel rush, summer transportation, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid Autumn Festival were successfully completed, which better met the public's holiday travel needs.
In terms of deepening the integration of railway and tourism and unleashing the potential of cultural and tourism consumption, a total of 2860 tourist trains were operated by railways nationwide in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 25.5%, including 1613 tourist special trains and 1247 tourist special trains. The railway department has launched a total of 947 themed trains such as "fan trains" and "fan trains" in conjunction with sports events, cultural performances, and other activities, covering diverse travel needs such as sightseeing, ecological health, and red study tours, driving the coordinated development of catering, accommodation, and cultural tourism industries along the line.
Cross border passenger transportation business maintains steady growth. In the first three quarters, the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong high-speed railway and the China Laos railway respectively sent 25.845 million and 265000 cross-border passengers, with year-on-year growth rates of 11.8% and 37.8% respectively; Simultaneously operating international passenger trains between China and Mongolia, China and Russia, China and Vietnam, and China and North Korea to serve cross-border tourism travel, the total number of foreign railway passengers in China reached 19.002 million, a year-on-year increase of 33.4%.
The policy of benefiting the people's travel continues to be implemented. From October 18th to December 30th, elderly people aged 60 and above who purchase tickets marked with the word "Respectful" on the 12306 platform can enjoy a discount of up to the ticket price. The order page will be marked with the "Elderly Discount" logo to further facilitate the travel of the elderly group.
In addition to expanding passenger transportation supply, the railway continues to enrich and diversify its travel products, with 76 routes covered by metered and scheduled tickets, and 28 routes covered by tourist metered tickets; Special services such as "silent carriage" cover more than 800 high-speed trains, continuously optimizing the passenger riding experience.