China's railways see record traffic

BEIJING -- China's railways carried a record high of 9.14 million passengers on the first day of the eight-day holiday, the country's Ministry of Railways announced on Tuesday.

Sunday was the first day of China's eight-day holiday bridging Mid-Autumn Festival on Sunday and the National Day holiday from Monday to Sunday.

A boy looks out through a window of a train before the start of a nationwide eight days break to celebrate China's Mid-Autumn festival and National Day at Nanchang train station, Jiangxi province, September 29, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

The daily passenger transport volume on September 30 exceeded the previous record of nearly 8.2 million set on the first day of the International Labor Day holiday, which lasts from April 29 to May 1.

On Sunday, the ministry added 343 provisional passenger trains to cope with the travel rush, making the number of passenger trains on the rail network totaled 4,717.

Trains heading for the scenic spots in China was especially crowded with passengers, said the ministry announcement.

No passengers were stranded overnight in railway stations thanks to the provisional passenger trains added to the network, it said.

Authorities predict that around 740 million trips will be made by Chinese people during the holiday, with around 660 million trips to be made on roads and waters, averaging 82.5 million trips daily, up 8.8 percent year on year.

Trains are the mainstream means of transport for Chinese holiday travelers.