China's railway organizations are putting on extra trains to cope with the predicted three travel peaks during this year's Spring Festival period.
The Ministry of Railways said this year's Spring Festival travel period lasts 40 days, from January 28 to March 8. The Lunar New Year falls on February 12 this year.
Wu Qiang, a senior ministry official, said the first peak in passenger numbers will take place around February 7 to 9, involving with between 3.5 million and 3.6 million people. The second peak will be from February 18 to 20 and involve 4.1 million people, while the third peak will be from February 28 to March 2 and involve 3.6 million people.
So far this year, the volume of railway passengers peaked on January 18 at 2.6 million, mainly involving students on holiday and transient labourers. This was earlier than in past years, Wu said. The volume will increase steadily in the coming days, he predicted.
To guarantee that trains are safe, punctual and comfortable, the ministry published the Spring Festival timetable earlier than usual, he added.
More than 100 trains in each direction have gone into operation for the festival period between big cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou,
Shanghai and Xi'an, according to the ministry.
The
Shanghai Railway Administration announced recently that it is fully prepared for the estimated 20.8 million passengers expected to travel during the festival period.
The administration is in charge of railway transport in
Shanghai and four provinces in East China and views the festival rush as its biggest challenge of the year.
To combat the problem, the administration has spent 380 million yuan (US$46 million) on buying 134 trains. It will spend another 7.5 million yuan (US$907,000) on maintenance.
It has also spent 12 million yuan (US$1.45 million) to hire trains to enlarge its fleet. Over the 40-day festival travel period, the administration will arrange the operations of 260 pairs of trains.
In Sichuan Province, the
Chengdu Railway Administration - which oversees 4,038 kilometres of railway lines in Southwest China - will transport an estimated 10.5 million passengers during the Spring Festival.
This will represent an increase of 365,000 passengers over the same period last year, said deputy administration head Yang Dasong.
Passengers using the
Chengdu Railway Administration's railways during the festival period will consist mainly of people visiting their families, students on holiday and migrant workers.
According to Yang, the peak transport days for his administration will be from February 14 to mid-March. Around February 20, the administration is expected to transport 350,000 passengers a day. As in previous years, most passengers will head for Beijing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Kunming, Lanzhou, Shanghai,
Taiyuan and Urumqi, he said.
The administration will use 83 extra trains over the 40-day period in addition to its 233 scheduled services. The extra trains will head mainly for Beijing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Linfen, Shanghai, Wuchang,
Xiamen and Xi'an.
To ensure safe transport, the administration has set up a responsibility system. All leading officials will inspect railway stations and trains. Spring Festival transport offices headed by leading officials have been set up at all levels. The offices will have people on duty round the clock to solve problems, Yang said.
The administration will reinforce its efforts to check and repair railway facilities and prevent fires and explosions by intensifying checks of inflammable substances on trains, he said.
With the aim of improving services during the festival period, the administration has invested 39 million yuan (US$4.9 million) to renovate its 1,998 old trains.
It will increase the number of ticket-selling outlets in railway stations where there will be a big influx of passengers. The outlets will sell tickets round the clock.
