In an interview on October 9, a representative from the China National Railway Group shared remarkable insights into the transportation outcomes from the recent 10-day National Day holiday period, which spanned from September 29 to October 8. The figures reveal that both passenger and freight transport achieved record-breaking levels.
The representative revealed that the national rail system catered to approximately 177 million passengers over this period, averaging around 17.73 million travelers each day. An impressive highlight was the eight consecutive days when daily passenger counts surpassed 17 million, with October 1 setting a remarkable record of 21.45 million passengers on a single day. Furthermore, the railways managed to transport a staggering 115 million tons of goods, including a remarkable single-day freight volume of 11.72 million tons on September 30.
The official noted that this year’s holiday season was characterized by overlapping travel surges, driven by tourism, family visits, and student travel, sustaining high passenger numbers throughout. To meet this demand, the national rail system implemented a peak operation schedule, optimizing both high-speed and regular train services, which led to a daily average of 12,237 passenger trains running—a new record.
Additionally, throughout the holiday transport period, the railways loaded an average of 188,000 freight cars daily, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 4,328 cars, or 2.4%. The total freight volume also reached 115 million tons, a 2.3% rise compared to the previous year.
In terms of cargo transport, the national rail system successfully delivered 43.36 million tons of coal for electricity production, ensuring a stable coal supply for 371 direct-supply power plants nationwide. The operations of the China-Europe Railway Express, the West Land-Sea New Corridor services, and the China-Laos railway international freight trains continued to run smoothly, effectively maintaining the stability of the international industrial supply chain.
