BEIJING -- China's railways have handled 872 million passenger trips, as of Friday, during this year's summer travel rush, up 6.2 percent from one year earlier, data showed on Saturday.

The average daily number of railway passenger trips reached 14.29 million between July 1 and Aug 30, according to data released by the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the country's railway operator.

The demand for student travel during the summer vacation, tourism and family visits was strong, keeping railway passenger flow at a high level, according to the company.

This year, the summer travel rush lasts from July 1 to Aug 31.

According to separate data from the Ministry of Transport, a total of 37.99 billion inter-regional trips were made in China during the first seven months of the year, an increase of 6.6 percent from one year earlier.