BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's railways handled 369 million passenger trips in January, representing an increase of 12.1 percent year on year, according to official data on Tuesday.

High-speed railways handled 275 million passenger trips during the period, marking an increase of 10.6 percent year on year and accounting for 74.6 percent of the total national railway passenger volume, according to data released by the National Railway Administration.

In January, China's railways handled 423 million tonnes of cargo with a freight turnover of 288.47 billion tonne-kilometers, according to the data.

The fixed-asset investment in railways totaled 43.9 billion yuan (6.12 billion U.S. dollars) in January, up 3.7 percent, said the administration.■