China will carry 4.08 billion passengers by rail in 2024, an increase of 10.8 % year-on-year. On the busiest day in 2024, the system carried 21.448 million passengers, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing data released by China State Railway Group Co, Ltd (China Railway) during a press conference.
By the end of 2024, the mileage of China's railways will have reached 162,000 kilometers, of which 48,000 kilometers are high-speed rail, a record achievement, according to China Railway.
On 29 December 2024, China's cutting-edge railway technology once again stunned the world when the country unveiled a prototype of the world's fastest high-speed train, the CR450. The new model has reached speeds of up to 450 kilometres per hour in tests and has an operating speed of 400 kilometres per hour. Currently, the top speed of CR400 Fuxing high-speed trains in operation in China is 350 kilometers per hour, according to Xinhua News Agency.
This is the latest example of China's admirable achievements in the railway industry.
A white paper on China's transport development published by the State Council Information Office in 2016 revealed that the total length of railways in China was only 21,800 kilometres as recently as 1949. But now the country boasts one of the world's busiest rail networks, connecting bustling cities with remote villages.
Railways serve not only as a mode of transport, but also as an engine of economic development and a witness to social change.
In cities, rail makes transport more convenient and regional coordination more efficient. In 2024, passengers made more than 27 million trips on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway, a year-on-year increase of 37 %, Xinhua News Agency reported. In remote areas, railways provide local residents with access to the latest information, quality goods and opportunities to realize their dreams. In southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, the Qinghai-Xizang Railway has been in operation for 18 years. Over the past 18 years, 36.885 million trips have been made on the railway and 87.751 million tons of goods have been transported on the railway as of June 30, 2024.
According to Xinhua, the region's GDP will increase from 29.05 billion yuan ($3.98 billion) in 2006 to 239.267 billion yuan in 2023.
Meanwhile, the railways are bringing China and the world closer together and injecting new momentum into building a community with a shared future for humanity.
More than 50 million tonnes of goods have been transported on the China-Laos railway since January 2, with 18 cross-border freight trains a day, a significant increase from just two trains when the railway first opened in 2021, China Central Television reported.
At a press conference on January 2, China Railway also announced that it will aim to complete 590 billion yuan of railway infrastructure investment and put 2,600 kilometers of new lines into operation in 2025. In 2025, the national railway system is expected to carry a total of 4.28 billion passengers, an increase of 4.9 % year-on-year. By 2030, the number of operating kilometres of national railways is expected to reach 180,000 kilometres, of which approximately 60,000 kilometres will be high-speed railways.
As the Spring Festival approaches, China's railway system is once again preparing to facilitate the journey of millions of people returning home to reunite with their families.
Global Times/ gnews - RoZ
Prototype of China's new generation CR450 high-speed train PHOTO -VCG
English 
Czech 
Spanish 
French 
Italian 
German