China's railways carry 75 mln passengers during Spring Festival so far_English

Special Report: Spring Festival Special 2009

Passengers queue to get on a train at the Railway station in Lanzhou, capital of north China's Gansu Province, Jan. 21, 2009. With the approach of the Chinese lunar New Year, Lanzhou railway station is confronted with the mushroom of passenger flow. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

Passengers queue to get on a train at the Railway station in Lanzhou, capital of north China's Gansu Province, Jan. 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)
Photo Gallery>>>

BEIJING, Jan. 30 -- China's railways carried more than 75 million passengers between Jan. 11-27, the world's largest migration of people, according to the Railways Ministry Wednesday.

The official statistics cover the first 17 days of the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush to celebrate the New Year. This is a 17 percent increase from the same period last year.

The ministry is now increasing the numbers of trains in migrant-heavy areas like Sichuan, Chongqing, and Jiangxi to brace for the post-holiday peak.

In addition, almost 115 million people took to the roads between Jan. 25-28, up 5.4 percent from the same period in 2008.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.