The railway plan that will place carers aboard of trains to attract tourists

China is set to introduce a new fleet of “silver trains” for elderly people as it looks to get its ageing population spending.

The carriages will be designed to make them comfortable and safe for older people to use, equipped with special features like emergency call buttons, oxygen bottles, and handrails, state-run newspaper Global Times reports.

It follows official data which showed that the country's population fell for the third year in a row in 2024, amid a demographic crisis, as per Al Jazeera.

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported last month the population of the world's second-largest economy dropped by 1.39 million over the previous 12 months to 1.408 billion, with deaths continuing to outnumber births, the outlet reports.

The country has also seen the working population (seen as aged between 16 and 59) decline, with the over-60s population growing to 22%, as per CNN.

Plans released on Tuesday by the commerce and tourism ministry and other government departments suggest the Chinese state plans to launch the trains by 2027, as authorities look to get senior citizens travelling and putting money back into the economy.

China's finances are also facing challenges, as Xi Jinping's administration deals with the quadruple threat of deflation, devaluation, capital flight and loss of foreign investment, as per Forbes.

In addition to the safety features, carers and professional medical staff will be on board to prescribe emergency medicines or even provide elderly sightseers with limited treatments, as per CNN.

The size and layout of seats, berths, and restrooms will also be designed with older people in mind, according to reports.

Additionally, the government called on destinations popular with tourists to upgrade facilities for elderly people to explore as part of the plans, and is inviting catering companies and performing groups to offer their services for the trains.

Kong Dejun, a director at the Ministry of Commerce, said: "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," as per China Daily, which is also run by the state.

Reports say the new fleet is part of the state's push to promote "services consumption", which has suffered amid job insecurity and slumping property prices.

China operated a record 1,860 tourist trains across the country in 2024, an increase of nearly 50% since 2019, the state-owned China Railway says.

Zhu Wenzhong, deputy director of the passenger transportation department at China Railway, said: "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."