BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Railway trips in China hit a record high as travelers returned to work after the week-long Spring Festival holiday, data from the national railway operator showed.

On Thursday, some 12.2 million passenger trips were made by rail, a daily record for the travel rush, according to the China Railway Corporation (CRC).

On Friday, 11.5 million railway trips are expected to be made, with an additional 1,147 trains scheduled, the CRC said.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese went back to their hometowns to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with their families.

The annual travel rush around the festival, known as "chunyun," often puts the transportation system to the test.

About 2.98 billion trips were expected to be made between Feb. 1 and March 12, basically the same figure as last year, according to estimates by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner.