BEIJING — China reported 56.88 billion cross-regional passenger trips in the first 10 months, up 3.6 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Transport said on Friday.

The fixed-asset investment in the transport sector totaled 2.95 trillion yuan ($417 billion) in the first 10 months, remaining at a high level, the ministry said. Such continued efforts in recent years boosting its transportation infrastructure have borne fruit.

Freight volume maintained growth momentum. From January to October, the country's operational freight volume reached 48.29 billion metric tons, an increase of 3.5 percent from a year earlier.

Specifically, highway freight volume was 35.62 billion tons, up 3.6 percent year-on-year, while waterway freight volume was 8.29 billion tons, up 3.5 percent year-on-year.

Port container throughput saw rapid growth. From January to October, port cargo throughput hit 15.13 billion tons, up 4.3 percent year-on-year. Of this total, domestic and foreign trade cargo throughput grew by 4.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

The nation's railway system handled a record-high number of passenger trips during the first 10 months, data from China State Railway Group Co Ltd, the national railway operator, showed recently.

In the January-October period, the number of railway passenger trips totaled 3.95 billion across the country, up 6.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the railway operator.

The operator said that since the beginning of this year, it has prioritized safe and orderly travel while also working to meet the growing diversity of passenger demands. For instance, it provided 2,049 tourism-focused train services in the first 10 months, up 28.1 percent year-on-year.

Infrastructure builders are going the whole hog on key transportation infrastructure projects nationwide.

Employees from China Railway Construction Corp's 24th bureau completed installing steel-concrete girders for the second phase of the Tenglong Avenue Smart Expressway, a major conduit to facilitate urban transportation in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.

The 2.9-kilometer elevated section will form a two-way six-lane expressway with a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Its completion accelerates the project's timeline toward opening in June to relieve traffic pressure, CR24G said.

Xinhua - China Daily