China's New Year holiday brings train travel record

 BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A record number of passengers traveled via railways during the New Year holiday, the Ministry¹ of Railways said Saturday.

From Monday to Thursday, some 22.55 million passengers traveled around the country by train, up by 3.05 million, or 15.7 percent, from the same period last year, the ministry said in a statement.

On Thursday alone, 6.11 million people were transported via railways, surging² 22.2 percent from Jan. 3, 2012, as people returned to work, creating a new daily record, the statement said.

Middle- and short-distance travelers accounted for most of the travelers during three-day holiday from Tuesday to Thursday.

High-speed railways, including the new Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway, saw heavy traffic during the holiday, the ministry said.

The 2,298-km Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway, the world's longest, opened on Dec. 26, cutting travel time between the cities from more than 20 hours to about 8 hours.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 surging   

n.汹涌

参考例句：

• The historical tide is surging forward with great momentum. 历史洪流气势磅礴，奔腾向前。
• Seagulls hover over the surging waves. 海鸥在惊涛骇浪上翱翔。