Over 200m rail passenger trips recorded during holiday period

A total of 213 million railway passenger trips were made during the 12-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday transport period that lasted from Sept 29 to Friday, according to the China Railway Group.

The average daily passenger trips reached 17.76 million, up 8.6 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, the country's railways handled 137 million metric tons of cargo during the period, the group said on Saturday.

Multiple transport indicators hit record highs during the period. The country's railways operated an average of 12,899 passenger trains per day, up 9.1 percent year-on-year. On Oct 8, the number of passenger trains in service reached 14,196, setting a new record for daily passenger transport capacity.

Meanwhile, the number of passenger trips made on Oct 1 reached 23.13 million, a record high for single-day passenger volume.

Cross-border passenger transport also saw a significant increase during the holiday. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the China-Laos Railway handled 1.26 million and 10,500 cross-border passenger trips, respectively.

In terms of freight transport, the country's railways handled an average of 189,000 freight carloads per day. They ensured the smooth transport of key materials such as autumn grain, chemical fertilizers, and other supplies for the festival.