China prepares for 2009 Spring Festival travel rush

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barryin06
January 10, 2009

01-10-2009 12:12 Government authorities are urging related departments to make complete preparations for the Spring Festival travel peak. Railway stations in many cities have taken measures to ens...

01-10-2009 12:12

Government authorities are urging related departments to make complete preparations for the Spring Festival travel peak. Railway stations in many cities have taken measures to ensure smooth travel for passengers. Qi Tianxing has more.

China expects 2.3 billion journeys to be made during the 40-day travel peak as people flock home for the annual Spring Festival holiday. That's a 3.5-percent rise from the same period of last year. A record 188 million train journeys are expected in this year's travel rush, up 8 percent from last year.

Railway authorities in cities including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai have scheduled additional express trains for the holiday rush. In Xi'an, the capital of Shanxi Province, local railway stations have added an extra 38 trains daily.

Wang Gang, Deputy Station Master of Xi'an Railway Station, said, "Most of our passengers are heading for the cities of Xining and Urumqi, and for Sichuan Province. We expect that the first travel peak will fall between Saturday and Sunday."

Air travel is also busy. Since direct air links between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan opened in December, the number of passengers has increased continuously. Taiwan-based airlines are planning to add another eight flights per day during the Spring Festival.

A Shenzhen travel agent said, "400 people have already registered for our tour group to Taiwan during the Spring Festival."

Airports have also strengthened efforts to ensure passengers' safety, and have contingency plans in place to cope with bad weather.

Xue Chunan from Xinzheng Int'l Airport, Zhengzhou, said, "We will not close the airport in the event of light snow. If we encounter heavy snow or other bad weather, we'll try to clear the runway within two hours and then re-open the airport."

Local officials have also been urged to prepare for emergencies, and step up safety checks on all forms of transport.

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China prepares for 2009 Spring Festival travel rush

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