China's railway carries more passengers in December

BEIJING - China's railway carries 140.52 million people in December of 2012, up 11 percent year on year, boosted by the newly-opened high-speed lines, according to the website of the Ministry of Railways.

The number of passengers using bullet trains stood at 43.05 million in December, up by 10.7 million, which accounted for 76 percent of the total increase in China's railway network, the data showed.

Meanwhile, 333.25 million tons of cargos were transported through railways, marking a year-on-year rise of 1.88 million tons, according to the data.

In breakdown, the country's railway carries 196.35 million tons of coal, 11.34 million tons of crude oil and 10.81 million tons of grain in December, the data showed.