BEIJING — China recorded an increase in passenger trips in its urban transit networks in September, official data showed.

The country's urban transit lines, running through 48 cities, handled a total of 2 billion passenger trips last month, up 22 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The September amount also grew 13.6 percent on a monthly basis.

By the end of September, China has put 249 urban rail transit lines into operation, with the total length reaching 8,069 km, the ministry said.