HANOI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- As the Spring Festival travel rush draws to a close, the international passenger train linking Vietnam's capital Hanoi and southern Chinese city Nanning has recorded surging demand, with all services operating at full capacity throughout the holiday period.

The international passenger train, which resumed service on May 25 last year after being suspended, has operated nearly 200 round trips, carrying around 20,000 passengers, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) Nguyen Chinh Nam told Xinhua.

"Passenger numbers have risen steadily. Particularly during the Spring Festival peak, all trains were fully booked and ran at maximum capacity," Nam said.

At Gia Lam Station in Hanoi, the atmosphere in the days leading up to the festival was marked by crowded platforms, with many passengers returning home after months of working abroad.

Among them was Deng Yan from central China's Hunan Province, who had taken the train in 2019 before it was suspended.

She told Xinhua that this was her second trip on the restored service, describing the journey as convenient and comfortable, especially during the holiday rush when high-speed rail and air tickets can be difficult to secure at short notice.

"By taking the overnight train, I could cross the border the next morning and connect to an onward high-speed train or flight. Basically, I could reach home in time for a family dinner," she said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chen, a resident of Nanning who purchased a ticket to return to Vietnam for work after the festival, said that one major advantage of cross-border rail travel is that it eliminates the need to change trains.

"Passengers disembark to complete customs and immigration procedures and then reboard the same train to continue their journey," he explained.

The route has also attracted international travelers, including a group of mobility science students -- Robin Friemel, Terence Wezel and Pascal Mader -- from Switzerland, who were extending their study trip by traveling north through Vietnam and onward into China.

They said booking tickets during the peak season was challenging due to high demand, but they were lucky to secure three tickets.

"We study transportation engineering, so we are obviously interested in transportation and trains. We thought it would be really cool to travel to China by train," one of them told Xinhua, adding that it was fascinating to observe differences in infrastructure development among Vietnam, China and their home country.

According to Nam, statistics show that growing numbers of Vietnamese, Chinese and international passengers have chosen rail as a preferred mode of transport for tourism, business and trade between the two countries.

The Hanoi-Nanning international service is seen not only as a means of transportation but also as a symbol of friendship between the two countries, Nam said, adding that the sight of international passengers traveling together reflects strong people-to-people exchanges.

"We are keeping a close watch on passenger numbers on this international service and are considering opening new routes beyond Nanning, linking more Chinese cities with Vietnamese destinations to facilitate cross-border travel and trade," he added.