China Railway: 20.32 million travelled Oct 4, 21.05 million expected Oct 5
Version 2: A further day of figures has been added: China Railway reported 20.32 million passengers carried on October 4, just below its previous forecast of 20.35 million, and said it expects 21.05 million trips on October 5 with 1,463 extra trains, alongside new 12306 city, route and remaining-ticket detail and a list of regional capacity measures.
In short
China Railway said the national rail network carried 20.32 million passengers on October 4, describing transport as safe and orderly, and expects 21.05 million trips on October 5 with 1,463 additional trains planned as mid- and short-distance travel keeps rising. A day earlier it had reported 19.273 million passengers on October 3 and forecast 20.35 million for October 4, with 935 extra trains. China News Service and IT Home added that 12306 pre-sales show flows concentrated on routes such as Nanning–Guangzhou, Shenzhen–Hong Kong and Shenyang–Beijing.
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China Railway said the national railway carried 20.32 million passengers on October 4, describing transport as safe and orderly, and expects 21.05 million passenger trips on October 5. The operator said passenger flows remained at a high level and that mid- and short-distance travel was continuing to climb, and it planned 1,463 additional passenger trains. The figures were released through its WeChat account and carried by China News Service, CLS, Yicai, Jiemian and IT Home. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
A day earlier, the same release had said the railway carried 19.273 million passengers on October 3 and expected 20.35 million trips on October 4, with 935 extra trains planned. The October 4 volume of 20.32 million was therefore just below the forecast issued the previous day. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Citing 12306 pre-sales, China News Service and IT Home reported that the main departure cities for October 5 were Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi’an, Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Changsha, while the main arrival cities were Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi’an, Zhengzhou and Nanjing. They said flows were relatively concentrated on routes including Nanning–Guangzhou, Shenzhen–Hong Kong, Hong Kong–Shenzhen, Shenyang–Beijing, Chengdu–Xi’an, Xi’an–Chengdu, Jinan–Beijing, Datong–Beijing, Wuhan–Shanghai and Wuhan–Guangzhou. [ 6 , 10 ]
The same outlets reported that for October 6 to 8 tickets were ample on routes including Beijing–Shanghai round trips, Shanghai–Wenzhou, Guangzhou to Nanning, Hengyang and Changsha, Shanghai to Xuzhou and Nanchang, and Chengdu–Xi’an, while seats remained on routes including Shenzhen–Xiamen, Guangzhou to Guigang, Nanchang and Guiyang, Beijing–Zhengzhou, Hangzhou to Fuyang and Bozhou, Shenyang–Yanbian, Shanghai–Bengbu and Xuzhou–Shanghai. The railway told passengers to follow added trains and remaining tickets through 12306 and station notices. [ 6 , 10 ]
China News Service reported that regional railway bureaus had added capacity and services for the peak, including 53 additional bullet trains and 38 conventional trains by the Harbin bureau, 41 extra trains by the Taiyuan bureau with a ticket-discount tie-in with local tourism at Yongji station, and 137 extra trains and 139,000 additional seats by the Xi’an bureau. It also said the Guangzhou bureau added 495 trains and the Chengdu bureau 332 including 62 overnight high-speed services, that Shenyang and Changchun stations turned on heating curtains because of cooler weather, that Hankou station offered one-stop air-rail check-in and baggage services, and that several stations arranged tourist buses or longer local bus hours. [ 6 ]
In its October 4 report, IT Home also relayed the railway’s reminder that 12306, including its mobile app and website, is the only official online ticket platform for China Railway and that it has never cooperated with any third-party platform. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The figures track the national rail network through China’s National Day holiday, when the system runs at its busiest and seat supply is tightest. The rising daily figures and the extra trains show how the operator is absorbing the peak, but the documents offer no comparison with previous years and no assessment of how the holiday period is performing overall.
Key facts
- China Railway said the national railway carried 20.32 million passengers on October 4, with transport described as safe and orderly. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- China Railway expected 21.05 million passenger trips on October 5 and planned to add 1,463 passenger trains, saying mid- and short-distance flows continued to rise. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- China Railway said the national railway carried 19.273 million passengers on October 3. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- China Railway expected 20.35 million passenger trips on October 4 and planned 935 additional trains. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The figures were published via the China Railway WeChat account, according to the outlets citing it. [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 9 ]
- According to 12306 pre-sales cited by IT Home and China News Service, the main departure cities for October 5 included Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi’an, Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Changsha. [ 6 , 10 ]
- China News Service reported that from October 6 to 8 seat availability is ample on routes including Beijing–Shanghai round trips, Shanghai–Wenzhou, Guangzhou to Nanning, Hengyang and Changsha, and Chengdu–Xi’an, while tickets remain on others including Shenzhen–Xiamen and Beijing–Zhengzhou. [ 6 , 10 ]
- IT Home reported that the railway told passengers 12306, including its app and website, is the only official online ticket platform and that it has never cooperated with any third-party platform. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- China Railway said the national railway carried 20.32 million passengers on October 4, with transport described as safe and orderly. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- China Railway expected 21.05 million passenger trips on October 5 and planned 1,463 additional trains. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- China Railway said the national railway carried 19.273 million passengers on October 3. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- China Railway expected 20.35 million passenger trips on October 4 and planned 935 additional trains. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The figures were released through the China Railway WeChat account. [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 9 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the reported passenger volumes are final or provisional. The volume for a given day is reported as passengers actually sent, while the figure for the current day is described as an estimate; no document says when final numbers are issued.
- How the October 3, 4 and 5 volumes compare with previous years or with earlier holiday periods. No document provides prior-year figures or any comparison.
- The exact holiday period covered and how many travel days it includes. China News Service refers to the National Day period and high-level flows but no document names the start and end dates of the travel period.
- The list of 12306 departure and arrival cities and the concentrated routes for October 4. This detail appears only in IT Home’s article and is not carried by the other outlets.
- The regional capacity measures credited to individual railway bureaus. They are described in detail by a single outlet, China News Service, quoting the operator’s release.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yicai publishes the China Railway figure that 20.35 million passenger trips are expected on October 4. [ 1 ]
- CLS reports that 19.273 million passengers travelled on October 3 and that 20.35 million are expected on October 4, with 935 extra trains planned. [ 2 ]
- IT Home adds 12306 pre-sale detail on the busiest departure and arrival cities and routes for October 4, and the railway’s warning about third-party ticket platforms. [ 3 ]
- Jiemian carries the same October 3 and October 4 passenger figures and the plan for 935 additional trains. [ 4 ]
- 36Kr carries the October 3 volume and the October 4 forecast and extra-train plan. [ 5 ]
- China News Service reports that 20.32 million passengers travelled on October 4 and that 21.05 million are expected on October 5, with 1,463 extra trains, along with ticket availability and regional capacity measures. [ 6 ]
- CLS and Yicai report the October 4 volume of 20.32 million and the October 5 forecast of 21.05 million with 1,463 extra trains. [ 7 , 8 ]
- Jiemian carries the same October 4 volume and October 5 forecast and extra-train plan. [ 9 ]
- IT Home adds 12306 city, route and remaining-ticket detail for October 5 and repeats the railway’s travel advice. [ 10 ]