BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese railway police have dealt with 859 theft, robbery and fraud cases, arresting 1,097 criminal suspects so far this year to ensure travel safety in Spring Festival.

The railway police have stepped up patrol at railway stations and in trains, collected information and clues through phone calls and social media platforms including Wechat and Weibo, and strengthened interrogation of criminal suspects, according to the railway police authorities.

Eighteen police contingents have been sent to railway stations in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to crack down on crimes.

The lunar Year of Dog falls on Feb. 16. The Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chun yun, lasts from Feb. 1 to March 12.

In 2017, 3.04 billion passenger trips were made by train, up 9.6 percent from the previous year. Over 56 percent of the trips were made on high-speed trains.