BEIJING, Jan. 2 -- About 8.29 million train trips were made on Thursday, the first day of a three-day New Year holiday, surging 56.5 percent year on year, China Railway Corporation (CRC) said Friday.

Traffic in major cities rose significantly on Thursday, the operator of the world's largest high-speed rail network said.

Some 869,000 passengers left Beijing by train on Thursday, a year-on-year increase of 30.5 percent. Over 1.76 million left Shanghai, jumping 64.7 percent, and 1.16 million left Guangzhou, up 57.5 percent.

CRC said that 6.9 million trips are expected on Friday, and it would dispatch 34 additional trains to accommodate the holiday rush.