Railways are expected to see this summer's first peak ridership this weekend, the Ministry of Railways (MOR) said on Saturday.

"There is a big increase of travelers this year," an official with the MOR said. "The number of passengers has been high since the summer holiday began."

Trains have carried an average of 4.5 million passengers per day since the beginning of this month.

On July 5, the MOR said, 4.76 million people traveled by train, almost the same as last year's record of 4.76 million.

Beijing, Shanghai and Zhengzhou, where many students finished their school terms, saw more than 100,000 passengers per day, and the number was expected to rise in late July as more students went home.

Source:Xinhua