BEIJING - Railway passengers in China are expected to hit 440 million during the Spring Festival travel rush, up 8 percent year-on-year, the China State Railway Group Co Ltd forecast Wednesday.

The upcoming holiday for the Spring Festival, a traditional festival for family reunions, will run from Jan 24 to 30, while the travel rush, also known as "chunyun," will last for 40 days from Jan 10 to Feb 18.

To serve the rising demand before the festival, 5,275 pairs of trains will be put into operation every day with a capacity to handle 10.1 million passengers.

Train tickets for the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush will be available on Thursday.