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Beijing sees first passenger peak
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-02-01 00:33
Beijing railways saw the first passenger peak Monday when more than 250,000
passengers left the national capital by train, rushing home for a family reunion
for the coming Spring Festival.
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| Passengers queue up for check-in before boarding trains in the
Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2005.
[Xinhua] | An official with the Beijing Railway
Administration said the peak was expected to last through Feb. 3 and the second
peak will begin after that. The two tides will be when most people want to go
home for the Spring Festival.
Beijing Railway Administration has added 33 pairs of temporary trains to
handle the emergency passenger peaks, the official said.
Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 9 this year, is an important occasion
for Chinese families, similar to Christmas in the western world.
For years, transport facilities have been strained during the season as
millions of migrant workers, college students and other Chinese flock back home
and then return two weeks later.
China's transport departments usually define a month or even longer period as
"Spring Festival transport peak." This year's peak season is from Jan. 25 to
March 5.
In the past five days since the peak travel season began, the railways have
carried 15.07 million passengers, a 6.6 decrease year-on-year. And 1,646
temporary trains have been launched, 16 more than the similar period last year.
Information from local transportation departments show that Beijing's
railways will see 7.35 million passengers during the Spring Festival rush season
which lasts for 40 days from Jan. 25 to March 5.
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