China reports 253 mln railway trips in Spring Festival travel rush

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 253 million passenger trips were made on trains in China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush that ended Friday, data from railway authorities showed.

The figure is 16 percent higher than the level for the same travel rush period in 2021, said the China State Railway Group.

Also, in the 40-day period this year, Chinese railways carried about 420 million tonnes of freight, up 1.4 percent year on year.

The transport ministry expected that total passenger trips made during the travel peak would hit 1.05 billion, 20.7 percent higher than the 2021 figure.

The Spring Festival peak-travel period in 2022 spanned from Jan. 17 to Feb. 25. During the travel season, also known as Chunyun, many Chinese people travel to reunite with their families for the Chinese Lunar New Year, celebrated on Feb. 1 this year.