The Guangshan high-speed railway, connecting Guangzhou and Shanwei, both located in South China's Guangdong Province, starts service on September 26, 2023, helping halve the travel time to about one hour. The railway will also accelerate the integration of eastern Guangdong into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to the railway group. Photo: VCG

In a sign of China's economic resilience, rail passenger travel and cargo transportation hit an all-time high in 2023, the state railway operator said on Tuesday.

Tapping the country's advantage in its high-speed railway (HSR) network and through constant optimization of scheduling and adding more trains to cope with peak demand, China's railways handled a combined 3.68 billion passenger trips, with peak- time daily passenger trips exceeding 20 million, in 2023, with both data setting all-time records, China State Railway Group Co announced.

On average, 10 million passenger trips were made each day.

In terms of cargo transportation, the state railway operator prioritized the shipping of key materials such as thermal coal, grain and fertilizer, and enhanced the level of input for multi-modal transport involving sea and rail and in getting goods in and out of sea ports, the company handled a total of 3.91 billion tons of goods, setting a new record.

In the last days of 2023, multiple sections of high-speed rail were added to China's HSR network, the world's longest, totaling 45,000 kilometers long as of the end of 2023. And, the country's railway length has reached 159,000 kilometers.

Fixed-asset investment in the railway sector reached 764.5 billion yuan ($107.64 billion) in 2023, surging 75 percent year-on-year, with a total of 34 projects becoming operational.

A 142-km-long section that connects Shantou and Shanwei in South China's Guangdong Province, and a 261-km-long section connecting Chengdu and Yibin in Southwest China's Sichuan Province were put into operation on December 26.

The 47-kilometer-long Fangdong Railway, which links Fangchenggang and Dongxing in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, became operational on December 27.

In 2024, the company said it is likely to handle 3.86 billion passenger trips and transport 3.93 billion tons of cargoes. 

It plans to add over 1,000 kilometers of new rails and realize freight transport revenue of 1 trillion yuan.

The China-Europe freight train service realized 17,000 train trips and handled over 1.9 million standard containers. Train trips grew 6 percent year-on-year, while container throughput jumped by 18 percent.