China News Service, Beijing, October 8 (Reporter Zhang Ni) The reporter learned from the Ministry of Transport that from October 1 to October 7, 2026, the cumulative number of cross-regional personnel movements in society is expected to be 2.144 billion, with an average daily number of 306 million, a year-on-year increase of 0.7% (the eight-day average of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday in 2025, the same below).
Among them, the cumulative railway passenger volume is expected to be 152.36 million, with an average daily volume of 21.77 million, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%.
The cumulative highway passenger flow is estimated to be 1,964.2 million passengers (including non-commercial passenger car trips on highways and ordinary national and provincial highways, and highway commercial passenger traffic), with an average of 280.6 million passengers per day, a year-on-year decrease of 0.2%. Among them, the cumulative highway commercial passenger traffic is expected to be 286.76 million, with a daily average of 40.97 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%; the cumulative non-commercial passenger passenger travel volume on expressways and ordinary national and provincial highways is expected to be 1,677.44 million, with a daily average of 239.63 million, a year-on-year decrease of 1.3%.
The cumulative waterway passenger volume is expected to be 10.99 million, with an average daily volume of 1.57 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%.
The cumulative civil aviation passenger volume is expected to be 16.95 million, with an average daily volume of 2.42 million, basically the same as last year.
The reporter learned that during this year’s National Day holiday, the transportation industry generally operated smoothly and orderly. It mainly presents new situations and changes in the following aspects:
First, the cross-regional flow of people across society is generally stable. The daily average number of passengers exceeds 300 million, and the average daily traffic flow on expressways is 64 million vehicles.
Second, the traffic volume on highways has differentiated. The traffic volume on expressways and ordinary highways has differentiated between different regions. In some areas, it is rising, while in others it is the same.
Third, the passenger flow of different modes of transportation has become differentiated. Railway, civil aviation, and water transport passenger traffic increased year-on-year respectively. On October 1, railways carried 25.2 million passengers, a record high, and civil aviation carried more than 2.51 million passengers, a new high for the same period.
Fourth, the number of severely congested highway sections and particularly busy charging service areas has decreased. The number of congested highway sections across the country with a length of more than 10 kilometers has dropped by 70% year-on-year; with new energy traffic increasing by 35% year-on-year, the average daily number of particularly busy charging service areas has dropped by 17% year-on-year.
Generally speaking, the developed comprehensive transportation network effectively ensures that people can travel on a large scale during the holidays and strongly supports the booming holiday economy. In terms of driving consumption growth, the average daily cross-regional movement of people exceeds 300 million people, effectively releasing the consumption potential of residents. In particular, car rental travel during the holidays this year increased by more than 25%, and the peak number of car rentals in a single day exceeded 950,000, a record high.
In terms of driving industrial development, the passenger flow during the holidays remains at a high level, with both long-distance inter-provincial travel and urban and suburban travel, which has effectively promoted the development of upstream and downstream supporting industries such as culture, tourism and creativity, leisure and entertainment, study and health care.
In terms of promoting regional economic linkage, people and materials flowed efficiently within urban agglomerations, metropolitan areas and between urban and rural areas during the holidays, which effectively enhanced the momentum of domestic demand, broadened the space for growth, and provided strong support for the continued improvement of the economy this year. (over)
