BEIJING - China's railways transported about 77.34 million passengers during the fifteen days (January 19 to February 2) before the Spring Festival, the Ministry of Railways said.

The figure was about 9.5 percent higher than the same period last year and set a new record, according to a report posted on the ministry's website.

There were an average of 5.16 million passengers per day, up 448,000 from the same period last year. On January 29, passengers topped 5.78 million, setting a new record for daily transportation before the Spring Festival, the report said.

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In the fifteen days before the festival, about 4.80 million passengers left Beijing, 8.39 million left Guangzhou and 5.69 million left Shanghai, while year-on-year growth and those leaving Guangzhou rose the most, up 15 percent year on year, said the report.

China's railways see rebound in returning passengers Friday.

The railways carried 3.89 million passengers Friday, the second day of the lunar New Year, up 11.3 percent year on year, according to a report on the ministry's website on Saturday.

Returning passengers will quickly climb beginning Saturday and the first returning peak will be next Tuesday, or the sixth day of the lunar New Year, the report said.

The ministry said challenges still exist as more snow and rain will hit southern China after the Spring Festival, when passengers are returning.

China's busy Spring Festival transportation season runs for 40 days and is calculated in two phases: 15 days before the Spring Festival and 25 days after the Spring Festival, the report explained.