BEIJING - Over 300 million train tickets for the Spring Festival travel rush have been sold after the presale kicked off on Dec 12, 2019, according to the latest statistics from China's railway operator.

Thursday saw a single-day record of 16.33 million tickets sold for train journeys on Jan 31, the first working day after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CSRC) said.

About 14.43 million tickets were sold via the official 12306 online booking services on Thursday, accounting for 88.4 percent of the total.

Popular trains of the day are return trips to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with tickets almost sold out.

Thanks to the nationwide promotion of electronic tickets, travelers can use their ID cards to enter and exit train stations instead of using paper tickets for boarding, according to the CSRC.

The upcoming Spring Festival holiday is a traditional time for family reunions, while the travel rush will last for 40 days from Jan 10 to Feb 18.