Spring Festival travel rush projected to record over 9 billion trips

China's latest 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, the largest annual migration in the world, is expected to transport more than 9 billion trips, with railway and civil aviation volume both hitting record highs, the Ministry of Transport said on Saturday.

The period started on Jan 14 and concludes on Saturday. A total of 9.025 billion trips are expected. Railways carried a record 514 million passenger trips, while civil aviation transported 90.19 million, both hitting new highs.

Road travel dominated with 8.39 billion trips, including nearly 7.2 billion self-driving trips, and waterways accounted for 31.15 million trips. These numbers highlight the critical role of China's transport networks in connecting people during the holiday season.