Transport networks brace for post-holiday travel peak

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China's railways are expected to face a post-holiday travel peak over the next few days, with millions of travelers returning to work and schools as the Spring Festival celebration comes to an end.

Trains carried about 11.04 million passengers on Wednesday, up from 8.72 million on Tuesday. About 930 extra trains will be put into operation to meet the travel demand.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese went back to their hometowns to celebrate the Spring Festival. The annual festival travel rush, also known as "chunyun" in Chinese puts the country's transportation system to a tough test.

This year's Spring Festival travel rush started on January 21 and will last till March 1, with railway trips expected to hit 413 million in total, up 8.3 percent compared to the volume last year.

Air travel is expected to see about 73 million trips during the 40-day period, surging 12 percent, while boat trips are predicted to hit 43 million, similar to that of last year.

From January 21 to February 12, air travel saw 41.47 million trips, up 10.4 percent year on year.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)