Number of train passengers in China 2009-2023
In 2023, China's national rail services transported more than 3.8 billion passengers, representing a significant rise of 130.4 percent from the previous year. The sharp decline in passenger numbers between 2020 and 2022 was largely caused by the prolonged control measures and subsequent lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rail system in China
As of 2023, the total operating length of the rail network in China surpassed 159,000 kilometers, with the provinces of Henan, Jiangsu, and Guangdong, having the highest rail passenger transport capacities. Shanxi and Inner Mongolia were the two regions with the highest freight volume. Due to the varied distribution of resources throughout the country, the rail system in China plays a crucial role in re-distribution.
High speed rail (HSR)
Being one of the largest countries on earth in terms of area and population, the need for transporting goods and people efficiently on a large scale pushed China to invest in the development of high-speed rail over the last decade, which has led to one of the most developed high-speed rail systems in the world. In 2024, the total length of the HSR network in China reached 48,000 kilometers, and the number would further grow to 70,000 kilometers in 2035. Four of the top eight fastest trains in the world are operating in China, and the CRRC Qingdao Sifang 2021 Maglev had a record speed of 600 kilometers per hour. The total volume of passengers transported by high-speed railways in China climbed up to a peak of 2.29 billion in 2019 before declining sharply in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
