Infographic: China railway passenger trips hit record high in first eight months

(AI-assisted Creation)

China handled a record 3.32 billion railway passenger trips in the first eight months of 2026, up 3.9 percent year on year, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

During the period, the railway network operated an average of 11,508 passenger trains daily, up 5 percent from a year earlier.

Responding to passenger growth driven by the country's transit visa-free policy, the railway network recorded over 16.68 million foreign passenger trips in the first eight months, up 33.3 percent year on year.

Cross-border rail travel also continued to grow. The China-Laos Railway carried 245,000 cross-border trips, up 39.1 percent, while the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway handled over 23.4 million cross-border trips, up 10.7 percent, China Railway said.

Analysts attributed the record to the expansion of China's high-speed rail network, stronger operational capacity, a rebound in tourism consumption and easier cross-border travel.

China has expanded its 240-hour visa-free transit program to 57 countries, with Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam the latest added. The policy has helped fuel a surge in cross-border travel, with Chinese border authorities handling 499 million inbound and outbound trips in the first eight months, up 8.7 percent year on year.