China will implement a new national railway timetable from Jan 26 as part of a regular adjustment aimed at improving network efficiency, optimizing transport supply and better supporting high-quality economic and social development, China State Railway Group, the country's rail transport operator, said on Tuesday.

According to the new timetable, the national rail network will operate 12,130 scheduled passenger trains, an increase of 243 from the current schedule. The number of freight trains will rise to 23,748, up 177, according to China State Railway Group. The changes are expected to further enhance passenger and cargo transport capacity and efficiency.

The adjustment comes as China continues to expand and upgrade the world's largest railway network. By the end of 2025, the country's high-speed railway mileage had exceeded 50,000 kilometers, reinforcing rail as the backbone of national transportation and a key driver of regional connectivity.

China regularly adjusts its national railway timetable, with major nationwide revisions carried out about four times annually.

The new timetable prioritizes newly opened high-speed rail lines, particularly in central and western regions. With the opening of the Baotou-Yinchuan and Xi'an-Yan'an high-speed railways, travel times between northwestern cities and major hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong province have been significantly reduced. The new services strengthen links between inland regions and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster as well as the Yangtze River Delta.

In the Yangtze River Economic Belt, services on the Wuhan-Yichang section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed corridor have been optimized. New routes in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Guizhou province are expected to boost connectivity in southwestern China. In southern China, the launch of services on the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang and Shantou-related high-speed rail lines will further integrate coastal areas into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The timetable also optimizes services in key urban clusters, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and Northeast China. Additional commuter services and improved peak-hour scheduling are expected to ease daily travel pressure, while better access to winter sports destinations is expected to support the ice-and-snow economy.

Freight transport has also been strengthened with additional scheduled freight and express cargo trains to support coal, grain and other key commodities, as well as growing demand for high-efficiency logistics. The railway operator said it will continue to promote multimodal transport and international rail services, including China-Europe freight trains, to help lower overall logistics costs and stabilize supply chains.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn