Railway passenger trips hit record high in Q1

China's railways handled a record of 1.13 billion passenger trips in the first quarter of 2026, up 5.5 percent year on year, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. announced on Thursday.

During the period, the railway network nationwide operated an average of 12,072 passenger trains every day, up 7.1 percent year on year, as railway authorities optimized transport capacity and adjusted services to match travel demand, the company said.

New measures were rolled out to improve passenger services, including two additional one-way discounted tickets for 2026 college graduates, telephone booking services for elderly passengers via the 12306 customer service center, and limited-time free refunds for mistakenly purchased tickets, the operator added.

To meet spring travel demand, railways also expanded tourist train services and launched full-itinerary products such as ice-and-snow and wellness tours, tapping into cultural and tourism resources along railway lines.

A total of 627 tourist trains were operated nationwide in the first three months of 2026, supporting the development of tourism, silver economy and ice-and-snow economy, said the company.

"We have strengthened our collaborations with government departments, industry associations, ticketing platforms, and others to launch customized themed trains, such as 'music fan trains,' 'football fan trains,' 'study tour trains,' and 'flower-viewing trains.' These initiatives have boosted the 'themed train plus' economy, created new consumption scenarios, and promoted the development of new business models," said Zhang Tao, deputy director of the marketing department of the passenger transport center at China State Railway Group.

Railway passenger trips hit record high in Q1

Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, expressed gratitude to Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, for his goodwill, and urged all political parties in Taiwan to work together for peace.

She made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing on Friday after meeting Xi.

"I sincerely hope that all political parties in Taiwan shall give up their differences and work together for peace when it comes to cross-Strait relations. General Secretary Xi also showed this significant goodwill just now. Such exchanges certainly will not be confined to exchanges between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. I believe such a broad vision and open-mindedness are something the Chinese Kuomintang is very pleased to see. We are not here today for the selfish interests of a single party. We are here today because we have our historical responsibility, and because we cannot allow Taiwan or the Taiwan Strait to fall into a battlefield. So we are taking the lead. Now that we have begun to blaze the trail, and it will only become ever smoother and broader going forward," Cheng said.

Invited by the CPC Central Committee and Xi, Cheng is the first KMT chairperson to have led a delegation to the Chinese mainland in a decade. The delegation, on a six-day visit, had visited Jiangsu Province and Shanghai before coming to Beijing.

KMT chairperson expresses appreciation for Xi's goodwill, urges peace