About 2.556 billion passenger trips are expected to be taken during this year's Spring Festival travel rush, up 11.6 percent year on year, said the Ministry of Transport on Monday.

Passenger trips by water will rise about 6 percent and those on flights about 10.8 percent, according to the country's transport authorities.

Previous data shows passenger journeys totaled 1.66 billion during the Spring Festival travel period in 2001, 1.9 billion in 2005 and 2.2 billion in 2010.

The ministry estimates that 640 million people will return home for Spring Festival which falls on Feb. 3 this year. The majority of passengers will be migrant workers, and this year's rural passenger trips will likely rise more than 10 percent for the period.

"Sound economic growth is the reason for the increase. Higher incomes and better transport facilities make it easier for people to travel," said Xu Guangjian, deputy dean of School of Public Administration (SPA), Renmin University.

Besides journeys home, many trips will be made to tourist cities such as Sanya in Hainan Province, which could be another factor behind this year's increase, said He Jianzhong, ministry spokesman.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang Monday said passenger stations should beef up checks to vehicles to ensure passenger's safety.

He also urged local transportation authorities to improve emergency response measures to reduce damages caused by bad weather.

The festival travel season this year starts on Jan. 19 and ends Feb. 27.