The number of rail passengers in South Korea shot up 44 percent on-year in the first quarter as the country returned to pre-pandemic normalcy, government data showed.

Around 39.2 million people traveled on railways in the January-March period, rising sharply from 27.2 million tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure excludes subway passengers.

The figure represents a 0.7 percent rise from the first quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with 2020 and 2021, the number of travelers shot up 49 percent and 69 percent, respectively.

In contrast, domestic air travelers decreased 7.5 percent on-year in the first quarter, totaling 15.7 million. (Yonhap)