China's railway coal shipments rose 1% year on year in the first eight months of 2026, with freight transport running smoothly and in an orderly manner.

Railways carried 1.83 billion tonnes of coal, 739 million tonnes of containers and 35.79 million tonnes of fertilizer and pesticides during January-August, up 1%, 7.5% and 12.5% respectively from the same period a year earlier, according to the National Railway Administration.

Total railway freight volume reached 3.49 billion tonnes in the period, up 0.7% year on year, while freight turnover rose 5.8% to 2.52 trillion tonne-km.

Fixed-asset investment in railways totaled 511.8 billion yuan ($75.8 billion) in January-August, up 1.5% from a year earlier, with construction advancing in a scientific and orderly manner.