Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 13 (Reporter Fan Xi) The reporter learned from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. on the 13th that in the first half of this year, the country's railways carried a total of 2.348 billion passengers, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%, a record high for the same period in history.

The railway department coordinates the resources of high-speed railways and normal-speed railways, carefully formulates train operation plans, and increases passenger transport capacity. The national railways arrange to operate an average of 11,468 passenger trains every day, an increase of 630 trains or 5.8% year-on-year.On May 1, the country's railways carried 24.844 million passengers, setting a record high in single-day passenger traffic.

At the same time, the railway department strengthened the organization of cross-border passenger transport. The China-Laos Railway carried 188,000 cross-border passengers, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-speed Railway carried 16.962 million cross-border passengers, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%;The Vietnam, China-Mongolia and China-North Korea international passenger trains promote cross-border personnel exchanges and economic and trade exchanges; they actively adapt to the increase in passenger flow brought about by the national transit visa-free policy and provide convenience for foreign passengers. The national railways sent 12.314 million foreign passengers, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%.

In terms of the integrated development of railways and tourism, the railway department insists on "trains running towards scenic spots", actively connects with cultural and tourism departments in various places, carefully arranges and runs tourist trains with unique characteristics, connects delicious food, beautiful scenery and cultural attractions along the line, and promotes the development of tourism economy and silver economy.In the first half of the year, a total of 1,797 tourist trains were operated by national railways, including 967 special tourist trains and 830 special tourist lines. They accurately matched the arrangements for local events, exhibitions, and cultural performances, and customized 445 "fans trains" and "fans special trains" to activate the "theme train+" economy, attract emerging passenger flows, effectively stimulate cultural tourism consumption along the routes, and promote the expansion and improvement of service consumption.

In addition, the railway department has further optimized services to enhance passenger travel experience.The "Silent Car" service has been expanded to more than 8,000 EMU trains, the "Pet Travel" service has been expanded to 163 high-speed rail stations and 364 EMU trains, and the "Light Travel" service covers 212 stations.The railway traffic code covers all EMU trains, allowing convenient transfers at 120 stations across the country, and 94 stations provide Internet ordering services. We create a special EMU catering brand, improve the quality of train catering services, and strive to provide passengers with "a box of good meals."