China railway passenger trips hit record 3.71 bln in January-October

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's railway passenger traffic hit a record high for the January-October period, with 3.71 billion passenger trips made, up 13 percent year on year, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said Thursday.

The national railway network maintained safe and orderly operations during this period, said the country's railway operator.

Passenger transport capacity increased significantly, with a daily average of 10,555 passenger trains put into operation in the first ten months, a 9.3 percent increase from the previous year, said the company.

The railway operator ran 1,599 tourist trains from January to October, boosting tourism and the silver economy, which involves all economic activities geared toward providing products and services to older adults. Tourist trains are specialized services operating between major cities and popular destinations, offering faster travel with fewer stops.

During the first 10 months of this year, cross-border travel also saw growth, with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway carrying nearly 22.5 million passengers, up 39.5 percent year on year. The China-Laos Railway handled 217,000 cross-border passenger trips.

An official with the group said that the company would continue to monitor passenger demand, optimize train operations, and enhance service quality to improve traveler experience.

China has continued to push ahead with railway construction since the beginning of the year. During the January-October period, fixed-asset investment in the country's railway sector reached 635.1 billion yuan (about 88.2 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 10.9-percent increase from the same period last year, data from the company showed.

So far, the total operation mileage of China's railway network exceeds 160,000 km, including 46,000 km of high-speed railway line.