More rail options offered for summer

China will implement a new national train schedule on July 1 to support the summer travel season, offering more high-speed rail options along popular tourist routes, the national railway operator said on Monday.

The revised schedule will add 236 daily passenger train services across the country, bringing the total to 13,302 scheduled services, according to China State Railway Group. The adjustments aim to accommodate surging summer travel demand by introducing new trains, additional stops and faster services, expanding access to scenic destinations.

One key highlight is the planned opening of the Chongqing-Qianjiang section of the Chongqing-Xiamen High-Speed Railway before July begins. The new line will bring high-speed rail service to the Wuling Mountains for the first time and connect Chongqing and Chengdu in Sichuan province with Changsha in Hunan province cutting travel times significantly, according to China Railway Chengdu Group.

"The fastest journey from Chongqing to Changsha will take just 3 hours and 53 minutes, saving more than an hour," said Zhang Lei, a passenger service official at Pengshui West Station in Chongqing.

The line also links major scenic sites such as Fairy Mountain, Jinfo Mountain, the Wulong natural rock bridges, the ancient Chiyou Jiuli City and the historic Zhuoshui Ancient Town, creating a continuous travel route through some of the region's top attractions.

The high-speed train service at Zhangjiajie West Station will increase to 108 daily departures. Currently, there is no direct high-speed rail link between Chongqing and Zhangjiajie, a major natural tourism site in Hunan.

Additional services will also operate along popular southwest routes connecting Chengdu and Yunnan's Kunming and Mohan — key cities along a tourism corridor linking major urban centers and border regions.

To meet rising demand along the southeastern coast during the hot summer months, "seaside tourism lines" will offer more frequent departures. New services such as the D6286/5 and G9834/3 will run every 15 minutes during peak hours between cities such as Fuzhou, Xiamen and Pingtan in Fujian province, according to the China Railway Nanning Group.

"After the schedule adjustment, there are 18 trains per day from Fuzhou South Station to Pingtan, covering almost all time slots," said Chen Haimin, who works at the station. "This gives travelers more flexibility when planning their trips."

Jiangxi province will also benefit from more flexible travel options. Eight additional trains will now run between Nanchang and Jingdezhen, enabling travelers to visit the iconic Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang before heading to Jingdezhen, known as China's "Porcelain Capital", in about an hour.

"I came from Nanchang in the afternoon to see the night scenery and cultural performances in Jingdezhen," said traveler Tong Jiaxin. "With late trains back to Nanchang, it's super convenient."

Several rail corridors will also see speed upgrades of up to 350 kilometers per hour. New "benchmark "express trains with fewer stops and shorter travel times are also being introduced to improve efficiency.

On the Shanghai-Changsha section of the Shanghai-Kunming High-Speed Railway, 36 new express trains will run hourly from 7 am to 6 pm, helping ease congestion and better meet passenger demands.

In Northeast China, the Beijing-Shenyang section of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway will add 56 express trains, 24 more than the current schedule. For the first time, cities including Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang province and Dandong in Liaoning province will have direct high-speed trains to Beijing.

China's national railway schedule is adjusted quarterly to meet evolving transportation needs, with adjustments aimed at improving passenger experience and freight logistics year-round.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn