BEIJING, March 21 -- China's railways saw steady growth in passenger trips and freight volume in February, official data showed.

Last month, the railways operated 272.97 million passenger trips, surging 43.3 percent year on year, according to the National Railway Administration.

In the first two months of this year, the number of rail passenger trips stood at 509.07 million, jumping 37.9 percent year on year, said the administration.

China's rail freight volume, a key indicator of economic activities, rose 6.8 percent year on year in February to 396.79 million tonnes.

The data also shows that some 809.91 million tonnes of cargo were transported via the railways during the Jan.-Feb. period, up 2.7 percent from the same period last year.