The national railway network plans to make a significantly higher number of passenger trips and haul more freight this year, promoting the sector's high-quality development and contributing to the country's resurgence from the COVID-19 epidemic.

Roughly 2.69 billion passenger trips are expected to be made this year, a major year-on-year increase of 67.6 percent, said Liu Zhenfang, president of the national railway operator China State Railway Group. In addition, some 3.97 billion metric tons of freight are expected to be handled, up 1.8 percent year-on-year.

He made the remarks at the company's annual conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Fewer people traveled last year due to the epidemic, with the network handling 1.61 billion passenger trips.