BEIJING — Some 11.4 million passenger trips were made through China’s railway network on Dec 30, the start of the three-day New Year’s Day holiday, data from the China Railway Corporation showed.

The figure was slightly higher than the 11.29-million passenger trips made in the same period a year ago.

About 9.15 million passenger trips are expected to be made on Dec 31, and the railway system added 204 temporary trains to meet the holiday demand, the company said.

With rapidly-expanding high-speed railways, more passengers prefer this faster and more comfortable means of transport.

By the end of 2018, the total length of China’s high-speed railways rose to 29,000 km, more than two-thirds of the world’s total, according to the company.