China Railway: Record Passenger Volume on National Day Holiday
The Chinese railway network handled 25.204 million passenger trips on October 1, marking the first day of the National Day holiday week and establishing a new daily record, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. announced.
Record Passenger Volumes on October 1
The unprecedented volume on October 1 surpassed previous single-day metrics for the state railway system. China Railway projected an additional 20.39 million passenger trips for October 2. To accommodate the surge in demand, railway authorities scheduled 1,462 supplementary passenger trains across the network.
Ticket pre-sales identified clear patterns in regional mobility for the holiday window. Departure hubs seeing the highest volume included Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi’an, Zhengzhou, and Nanjing. Concurrently, travelers converged on destination cities led by Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Nanjing, and Changsha.
Railway Bureaus Manage Congestion on High-Density Routes
Corridors experiencing the heaviest congestion included the Xi’an-Chengdu round-trip routes alongside services originating in Beijing and connecting to Shenyang, Zhengzhou, and Qingdao. Railway bureaus nationwide adjusted operational schedules to manage the influx of passengers.
The Taiyuan Group of China Railway coordinated with local transport departments and tourism sites to establish dedicated shuttle bus services. These shuttles connected the Datong South Railway Station directly to the Yungang Grottoes—a UNESCO World Heritage site housing over 50,000 stone Buddhist sculptures—and the Mount Hengshan tourist zone in northern China’s Shanxi province.
The Hohhot Group of China Railway put 11 multiple-unit trains into service along the Baotou-Wuhai section of the Baotou-Yinchuan high-speed railway.
China Railway Projects 284 Million Passenger Journeys
The Wuhan Group of China Railway utilized the recently launched Yichang-Xingshan high-speed railway to launch a joint promotional campaign with the local governments of Yichang and Xingshan. Travelers presenting valid train tickets received exclusive discounts at participating scenic spots, hotels, and homestays.
China Railway projected that approximately 284 million passenger journeys would take place during the combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period, which spans from September 23 to October 8.