(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-25 20:25

BEIJING - Trains carried a record 5.9 million passengers on Saturday, the Ministry of Railways told Xinhua on Monday.

The volume exceeded the February 15 record of 5.15 million passengers, when millions of rural migrant workers headed back to work after the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to the ministry, students returning to school after winter holidays accounted for much of the traffic peak. On Friday and Saturday, 2.05 million students rode the rails, double the corresponding figure of last year.

The heaviest traffic was mainly in Beijing, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Shanghai, Nanchang, Chengdu and Fuyang in Anhui Province.

The ministry said that 774 additional passenger trains, 423 of which provided express service, were added to cope with the traffic.

Student volume eased after the travel peak, but the ministry said that there were still more than 600,000 students riding trains on Sunday.

The ministry promised to provide students with sufficient tickets, which are half the normal hard-seat price. Some rail stations opened ticket windows just for students and added carriages to cope with peak student traffic.