China's railway network reached historic highs in 2025, with its high-speed rail system expanding beyond 50,000 kilometers and passenger traffic soaring to 4.26 billion trips, China State Railway Group said on Sunday.

The figures, along with new targets for 2026 and longer-term goals through 2030, were announced by Guo Zhuxue, president of the national railway operator, at the company's annual work conference held in Beijing.

The past year marked the final year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), during which the country's total railway mileage increased from 146,300 kilometers to 165,000 kilometers, a rise of 12.8 percent. High-speed rail mileage expanded even faster, growing nearly 33 percent from 37,900 kilometers to 50,400 kilometers, Guo said.

"China has built the world's largest and most advanced high-speed railway network," he highlighted at the conference, backed by record-breaking passenger volumes.

In 2025, national railways carried 4.255 billion passenger trips, up 4.2 percent year-on-year, while daily passenger traffic peaked at more than 23.1 million trips — both all-time highs.

Looking ahead, Guo said China aims to further expand capacity and improve service quality. In 2026, national railways are expected to handle about 4.4 billion passenger trips, an increase of 3.5 percent, and transport 4.13 billion metric tons of freight, up 1.5 percent.

By 2030, China plans to extend its total railway mileage to about 180,000 kilometers, including roughly 60,000 kilometers of high-speed rail.