BEIJING - China's railway sector experienced a surge in passenger traffic on Monday as travelers returned from the week-long National Day holiday.

The railway network is expected to handle 19.86 million passenger trips on Monday, the last day of the holiday, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

A total of 13,103 trains are in operation, including 1,705 additional trains scheduled to meet the rising demand. This marks a historic high for a single day's operational capacity, the company said.

Over the course of the 10-day holiday travel period, from Sept 29 to Oct 8, China's railway network is projected to handle 175 million passenger trips.

To manage the travel boom, China has taken measures to add extra trains on popular routes and enhance services to ensure safe and orderly travel for passengers.