A train arrives at a station in Sichuan province, December 12, 2014.[Photo/IC]

BEIJING - Railway passenger trips reached 655 million in the first quarter of 2016, up 13.5 percent from last year, China Railway Corporation (CRC), the country's rail carrier, said on Thursday.

The CRC attributed the growth to its efforts in strengthening its operation capabilities to meet the rising demands.

The CRC announced in January that it had updated its service planning diagram and it now operates 3,142 pairs of passenger trains across the country, with 1980 pairs being bullet trains.

China overfulfilled its railway construction targets in 2015 as part of government effort to improve transport infrastructure and stabilize growth.

China put 9,531 kilometers of new rail lines into operation in 2015, while its annual target was 8,000 kilometers.

The country invested 823.8 billion yuan ($126.7 billion) in railways, beating the full-year goal of 800 billion yuan.