China's rail freight volume, an indicator of broad economic activity, registered stable expansion in January, official data showed.

Railways carried a total of about 368 million tonnes of freight in the month, up 8.2 percent year on year, according to the National Railway Administration.

Thanks to the Spring Festival travel rush, railway passenger traffic surged 15.4 percent from the same month last year to reach around 283 million.

In addition, rail fixed-asset investment amounted to 35 billion yuan (about 5.2 billion U.S. dollars), a notable year-on-year rise of 17.9 percent.

The data added to a series of indicators that showed resilience in the economy.