China's railways carried a record 5.18 million passengers on October 1, the first day of the country's week-long National Day holiday, said an official with the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday.

The source attributed the peak transportation to the increase of long-distance and short-distance travelers on that day. A total of 282 temporary trains were put into service on Sunday, said the ministry.

On October 1 last year, the railways carried 4.55 million passengers, according to the ministry's data.

Railway is the main transportation tool for Chinese travelers. The sector faces even harder tasks in catering to increasing travelers during the country's three golden week holidays, which was introduced in 1999 aiming to stimulate domestic consumption.

The three week-long holidays are featured by the Spring Festival, May Day and National Day.

(Xinhua News Agency October 4, 2006)