BEIJING, May 4 -- Safety statistics released Monday by the railway authority show that year on year there were less accidents and deaths in 2014.

Data released by the National Railway Administration (NRA) showed that in 2014, 1,232 people died in railway accidents, down 7.8 percent from 2013, according to a report on the Ministry of Transport's website.

In 2014, 2.36 billion people traveled by rail, while freight trains transported 3.81 billion tonnes of cargo.

The railway authority also said that by the end of 2014, of the 112,000 kilometers of track in operation, over 16,000 km, or 14.3 percent, was high speed rail (HSR) track.

Last year, 8,427 km of new track was added to the network, with 5,491 kilometers, or over 65 percent of the total, being HSR.

Spending on new train purchases hit 146.5 billion yuan (23.95 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014, up 22.2 percent year on year, while investment in railroad construction rose 12.6 percent year on year to top 662.3 billion yuan, according to the report.