"The launch of the special tourist trains for seniors represents a measure to further improve elderly friendly facilities and services and improve the wellbeing of the greying demographic, while the trains will also provide services for consumers of all age groups," added Mr Dejun.
"The main operation directions of these trains are concentrated in popular tourist destinations and routes such as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as well as Yunnan and Heilongjiang provinces,” Zhu Wenzhong, deputy director of the passenger transportation department at China Railway, said.
In 2024, China operated a total of 1,860 tourist trains nationwide, a record high – and a figure that jumped nearly 50 per cent since 2019, China Railway revealed.
"With the expansion of the elderly population and their growing demand for cultural and tourism consumption, the growth potential of tourist trains for seniors is huge," Kong Dejun, a director at the Ministry of Commerce, said.
China aims to launch more than 100 “high-quality railway routes for elderly tourism” by 2027, with more than 2,500 trains expected to operate each year.
