State Railway Administration: From January to August, the total number of passengers sent by national railways was 3.321 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to news from the State Railway Administration on September 18, from January to August 2026, the country's railway passenger and freight volume continued to grow, and transportation was safe and orderly, providing strong transportation support for the safe travel of passengers and the smooth operation of the economy. In terms of passenger transportation, from January to August, railways across the country delivered a total of 3.321 billion passengers, an increase of 3.9% over the previous year; completed passenger turnover of 1181.84 billion people kilometers, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year. During the summer travel season from July 1 to August 31, railways across the country sent 954 million passengers, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year.

Figure 1 National railway passenger traffic from 2023-2026 to January-August

Figure 2 National railway passenger turnover from 2023 to 2026 from January to August

In terms of freight, from January to August, railways across the country delivered a total of 3.492 billion tons of goods, an increase of 0.7% over the previous year; completed cargo turnover of 2524.961 billion tons/km, an increase of 5.8% over the previous year. Looking at the transportation situation by category, from January to August, railways across the country delivered a total of 1,830 million tons of coal, 739 million tons of containers, and 35.79 million tons of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, up 1.0%, 7.5%, and 12.5%, respectively, over the previous year, and cargo transportation was smooth and orderly.

In terms of fixed asset investment, from January to August, the country's railway fixed asset investment reached 511.8 billion yuan, an increase of 1.5% over the previous year, and railway construction progressed in a scientific and orderly manner.

This article was selected from the WeChat account of the “State Railway Administration”, Zhitong Finance Editor: Feng Qiuyi