Rush begins as railways gear up for Spring Festival exodus
Print Edition
RAILWAY ticket bookings began yesterday for the upcoming travel period around the Spring Festival, China’s Lunar New Year, with around 356 million trips expected.
The annual travel rush, or “Chunyun,” which is called the “world’s largest migration,” will last from January 13 to February 21.
The number of trips is forecast to increase 9.7 percent year on year, according to China Railway Corporation.
This Spring Festival travel period starts 11 days earlier than the last one, and the 30-day online booking period is 30 days shorter than this year’s.
Chunyun sees hundreds of millions of people head to their hometowns to meet relatives and old friends, putting huge stress on the transportation system. The upcoming Spring Festival falls on January 28.
China’s rapidly developing high-speed rail system has helped ease the holiday strain for travelers. The country boasts a high-speed rail network of more than 20,000 kilometers, the world’s largest.
Since the last Chunyun, China has extended its rail network by 3,200km, including a new high-speed railway linking Shanghai with Kunming, capital of southwest Yunnan Province, and another linking Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with Kunming.
Railway authorities have prepared for the coming travel rush.
Most ticket booking is done via the website 12306.com and the 119000 hotline.
The railway authority has 10,267 ticket booths, 11,233 ticket vending machines, and 15,443 ticket agencies around the country.
The railway department in Shenyang, capital of northeast Liaoning Province, said automatic ticket vending machines are located in popular venues.
These include railway terminals, universities, banks and fast-food restaurants.
The railways have also introduced new technology to assist with swift passenger check-in.
Beijing Western Railway Station, for example, has added four self-service check-in lanes to automatically scan passengers’ tickets, ID cards and take their photos for verification in 3-5 seconds.
Qinghai-Tibet Railway Co yesterday said that the world’s highest and longest plateau railroad is expected to transport 1.3 million passengers during the travel period, up 4.8 percent year on year.
In Xining, capital of northwest Qinghai Province, ticket vending machines have been placed in banks for the first time this year.
Li Jia, a senior executive with the passenger transport department of Qinghai-Tibet Railway Co said that this will help facilitate ticket booking and pickup.
Police will reinforce patrols and fight ticket sale fraud and scalping.
Pei Jiyang, who has helped people book railway tickets over the past eight years, recommended online buyers stay calm, as railway authorities usually unveil changes to train schedules in January, often adding trips to popular destinations to cope with demand.
He also suggested buyers try booking on the newly opened rail routes.
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