Rail network saw nearly 500m passenger trips during Spring Festival

The national railway network handled 484 million passenger trips during the just-concluded Spring Festival travel rush, which ended on Tuesday, achieving historic highs in several indicators, according to China State Railway Group, the national railway operator, on Wednesday.

The number of average daily passenger trips was nearly 12.09 million, a year-on-year increase of 39 percent, and up 18.8 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

A record-breaking 16.07 million passenger trips were made on Feb 17, setting a historic high for daily passenger transport during the Spring Festival travel rush.

In the meantime, 395 million metric tons of cargo was transported.

To cater to the surge of passenger demand, more trains were added during the travel rush. The daily operation of passenger trains on the national railway increased by 18.5 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The passenger transportation capacity reached a historic high during the Spring Festival travel rush.

This year's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, began on Jan 26. The rush is an annual phenomenon in China, where millions of people travel across the country to reunite with their families for the Spring Festival holiday.