BEIJING, May 4 -- Heavy rain in some parts of China during the three-day May Day holiday did not dampen the enthusiasm of holidaymakers, with the number of travellers by rail and road both up from a year earlier.

Some 41 million trips were taken by train between April 30 and May 3, an increase of 10.9 percent from the previous year, with 1,505 extra trains running during the period, said the China Railway Corporation.

On May 1, the first day of the public holiday, 11.9 million trips were taken by rail, setting a daily record.

The toll fee exemption during the holiday boosted travellers hitting the road, with traffic on the nation's 10 most important highways growing 2.8 percent from the previous year, data from the Ministry of Transport revealed.