BEIJING, March 26 -- China's rail passenger trips jumped 36.2 percent year on year in the first two months of 2024, official data showed.

A total of 693.14 million passenger trips were recorded across the country's rail networks during the period, according to the Ministry of Transport.

China's rail freight volume, a key indicator of economic activities, edged down 0.5 percent year on year to 805.87 million tonnes.

The data also showed that China's fixed-asset investment in railways reached 65.2 billion yuan (about 9.19 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months, up 9.5 percent year on year.