(ECNS) -- China’s railways handled a record 2.8 billion passenger trips in the first seven months of 2026, up 4.1% from a year earlier, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said Saturday.

The national railway network operated an average of 11,462 passenger trains each day, 571 more than a year earlier, up 5.2%, according to the group.

Cross-border rail travel also grew. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway handled 20.05 million cross-border passenger trips, up 11.5%, while the China-Laos Railway recorded 214,000, up 38.2%.

Railway trips by foreign nationals across China totaled 14.85 million, up 32.5% from a year earlier amid increased travel under the country's transit visa-free policy.

(By Intern Yang Hongran, Zhang Dongfang)