BEIJING, July 9 -- China saw 1.77 billion railway passenger trips in the first half of the year, data from the country's railway operator shows.

The number of passengers handled by railways nationwide climbed rapidly in the second quarter of the year, registering an increase compared with the same period in 2019, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

On April 29, more than 19.66 million railway passenger trips were recorded, a historic high for single-day passenger traffic.

In the first half of the year, with steady economic and social development, the country saw an increased number of passenger trips, said the group.

The national railway network operated an average of 9,311 trains daily in the first half of the year, increasing 11.4 percent over the same period in 2019, according to the group.