China's railway network transported 24.8 million passengers on May 1, setting ⁠a new single-day record, according to data from the China State Railway Group.

A report on Saturday from the Xinhua news agency ⁠said the national railway ⁠system is also ⁠expected to transport 19.7 million passengers on ⁠May ‌2.

Some lines had to add new ‌trains to handle the holiday passengers, it ⁠reported.

The Zhengzhou line added 140 passenger trains, and the Chengdu line ‌added 184.

The surge in domestic travel came with the country expected to see more than 344 million inter-regional passenger trips on Friday, up 3.4 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Transport said.

Road trips are expected to reach 315.24 million, a 3.2 percent increase.

The 24.8 million rail passenger trips represent an increase of 7.3 percent year on year.

Waterways are expected to see 1.73 million trips, marking a 4.9 percent increase.

However, air travel is estimated to record 2.33 million trips, down 0.7 percent.

Inbound and outbound passenger flows are also expected to average 2.25 million daily and peak at more than 2.4 million in a single day, according to a National Immigration Administration forecast on Tuesday, as the May Day holiday beginning on May 1 ranks among the busiest travel periods of the year. (Reuters & Xinhua)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden