BEIJING - China's railway passenger trips and cargo transport surged in July, according to the country's railway operator.

The country's railway handled 224 million passenger trips last month, with the average daily trips reaching nearly 7.23 million, surging 30.9 percent month-on-month, data from China State Railway Group Co Ltd showed.

A total of 410 million tons of cargo were transported by China's railway in July, with 13.22 million tons transported on an average daily basis, up 12.3 percent from the same period last year, the data showed.

China is expected to see 520 million railway trips during the summer travel rush, which lasts from July 1 to Aug 31.

The summer travel rush is usually a busy season for China's railway system as college students return home and transport demand from family visits and travel soars.