BEIJING -- Procurators investigated 141 crimes involving railway transportation staff in the first half of the year amid efforts to crack down on corruption, authorities said Monday.

The figure was 4.4 percent higher than that of the same period last year, and 108 cases were classed as serious, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Among the cases, procurators in Kunming city in Southwest China's Yunnan province investigated 10 cases involving the seizure of railway cargo due to theft and fraud carried out by railway staff.

In another case, authorities investigated and prosecuted a former engineer in charge of supervising railway project quality and safety for alleged dereliction of duty in a fatal railway tunnel explosion on Dec 25 in North China's Shanxi province.

Many reforms are being made in the sector following the separation of the Ministry of Railways in March into administrative and commercial arms, a move that was made to reduce bureaucracy, curb corruption and improve efficiency.