Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway swung to profit in H1 driven by rising travel demand

 

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The high-speed railway line between Beijing and Shanghai swung to a profit in the first half of the year thanks to surging travel demand after the lifting of Covid restrictions. 

The railway line, one of China’s busiest and fastest, bagged 5.1 billion yuan ($702 million) in net profit in the half of the year, compared to a loss of 1 billion yuan a year earlier and close to the net profit of 5.34 billion yuan in the same period in 2019, according to the railway operator Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway Co. Ltd. 

It reported a revenue of 19.3 billion yuan for the period, surging 143% from the same period a year earlier.

The rail line recorded a total of 24.99 million passenger trips, surging by nearly three times from a year earlier and reaching 99.7% of the level seen in the same period in 2019, showed the data.

The rail line’s performance in the third quarter is expected to remain strong supported by the robust travel demand during the summer holiday period.

According to data from the China State Railway Group, the country’s railway passenger trips have been surging since mid-August. In particular, the daily railway passenger trips reached 15.33 million on August 12, marking a new record for summer holiday. During the period of July 1 – August 15, China recorded a total of 614 million railway passenger trips.

In the first half of the year, China recorded a total of 1.77 billion railway passengers, surging 124.9% from a year earlier. In particular, rail passengers in April, May and June rose by 7.6%, 5.6% and 4.8%, respectively, from the same period in 2019.