China railways brace for record passengers in upcoming 'Chunyun'

BEIJING -- China's railway system will see a record number of passengers during the upcoming "Chunyun" peak travel period around Spring Festival.

Up to 356 million trips are expected to be made via railways between Jan. 13 and Feb. 21 in the annual migration, up 9.7 percent year on year, according to China Railway Corporation (CRC) Saturday.

CRC said it will add more passenger trains to deal with the extra numbers and simplify ticket purchase procedures to improve services.

China's rapidly-developing high-speed railways will help ease the holiday strain for travelers. The country boasts a high-speed rail network of more than 20,000 km, the world's largest.

Spring Festival is the country's most important family holiday, with hundreds of millions of people heading to their hometowns to meet relatives and old friends, which puts huge stress on the transport system.