A 6.8 percent increase, 11,574 trains per day, services for foreigners up by a third, and 126 stations now accepting pets.

As reported by CCTV+, in the first four months of 2026, China’s railways served one billion five hundred fifty-five million passengers. That is 6.8 percent more than a year ago. An average of 11,574 passenger trains ran daily — an increase of 6.3 percent.

The system maintained its high-speed train operations and continued to run low-speed passenger trains for rural development. This is to ensure that people in remote corners of the country do not feel cut off from the mainland.

Regarding cross-border transport, the China-Laos Railway carried 143,000 passengers — a 36.3 percent increase. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway carried 11 million 777 thousand passengers, up 14.8 percent.

Zhang Tejin, Deputy Director of Marketing at the China Railway Passenger Transport Center, noted: “We actively adapted to the increase in passenger flow caused by our country’s visa-free policy, and provided multilingual services and simplified conditions for foreign tourists. Nationwide, in the first four months, the railway system served 7 million 829 thousand trips by foreign travelers, an increase of 33.9 percent compared to a year ago.”

Services are becoming increasingly attentive. More than 8,000 high-speed trains now offer dining cars. 126 stations and 265 trains allow pets. 111 stations offer baggage delivery and pickup. 93 stations offer food delivery.

To promote railway tourism, local operators and tourism authorities launched 1,020 tourist trains from January to April.

Zhang added: “We developed new consumption scenarios under the ‘railway plus’ concept. To meet diverse travel needs for sports events, exhibitions, shows and study tours, we created special trains for sports fans and study tour trains, designed to attract new tourist groups and effectively stimulate the consumption of cultural and tourism services along railway lines.”

Chinese trains are no longer just a means of transport. They have become part of life. High-speed trains carry fans to matches, families to grandparents, tourists to new horizons. And cats and dogs no longer have to be left at home. The record numbers are impressive, but something else is more important: the system has turned to face the person. And the person responded — one and a half billion times in four months. Because when the journey is convenient, people travel more willingly. And when you can eat on the road, take your pet with you, and not fill out forms at the border, they travel even more often.