BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- More than 273.75 million passenger trips were handled by China's transport sector on Sunday, the second day of the Chinese New Year holiday, up 22.6 percent from the corresponding day last year, official statistics show.

Of the total, highway traffic accounted for 261.64 million passenger trips, up 21 percent year on year, according to a special work team established in January to ensure the safety and sound operations of this year's Spring Festival travel rush.

Railway traffic increased 71.8 percent to over 8.97 million trips this year, air trips surged 75.3 percent to nearly 2.17 million, and waterway passenger trips increased 42.2 percent to 977,000.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, is China's most important festival, falling on Feb. 10 this year. The holiday travel rush -- a period of high transport demand as people return home for family reunions -- began on Jan. 26 and will continue to March 5.