Qinghai-Xizang Railway sees record number of passengers in 2023

The Qinghai-Xizang Railway transported a record number of passengers in 2023. Over 2.95 million passengers use the railway to travel in and out of the Xizang autonomous region as of Dec 31, according to China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co Ltd.

Among these passengers, nearly 1.53 million were inbound, while nearly 1.42 million were outbound. These are the highest numbers since the railway began operating 17 years ago.

Based on the company's statistics, these figures demonstrate a significant increase compared to 2018, seeing growths of nearly 366,000, including 266,000 inbound and 101,000 outbound passengers, respectively.

According to the company, in the past year, the railway operated 1,107 temporary passenger trains for passengers traveling into Xizang and to other places from the region. Additionally, they added 624 temporary passenger trains on the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway and 738 on the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, ensuring nine pairs of inbound and outbound trains operated daily during peak season.

In 2023, the company organized and operated six tourist train trips in the region, as well as luxury tourist train trips visitors from Hong Kong and Macao.

palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn