2022 Spring Festival travel rush starts, 1.18 billion expected trips

The photo is taken on January 17, on the D3956 train from Beihai, Guangxi to Dali, Yunnan, Yang Liuzhen, a police officer of the Nanning Public Security Bureau of Nanning Railway Public Security Bureau, is checking the luggage storage of passengers.(Xinhua)

The 2022 Spring Festival travel rush officially kicks off today. According to the transportation department's comprehensive forecast, the passenger flow of this year's Spring Festival travel rush will be significantly lower than before the epidemic. However, there will still be a significant increase compared with last year. It is estimated that 1.18 billion trips will be made nationwide during the Spring Festival travel rush this year, with 29.5 million trips per day, up 35.6 percent from 2021.

Also, New Year's Eve train tickets are officially on sale from Monday. This year's 40-day travel rush is expected to end on February 25.

To better ensure the smooth management of the Spring Festival travel rush, relevant departments have also launched convenience measures to improve the passenger experience.

First, precise transport capacity will be arranged to meet the travel needs of passengers in the context of epidemic prevention and control. During the Spring Festival travel rush, relevant departments can provide more than 10.5 million seats per day, up more than 10 percent from 2019. If the COVID-19 epidemic occurs in some areas, the departments will quickly adjust the transportation capacity, stop or reduce the operation of passenger trains in affected areas, and curb the movement of people.

Contactless services will also be promoted to create a healthy travel environment for passengers. For example, the number of self-service equipment at the stations will be increased, and fast channels for entering the station will be added. Online meal-order services will also be employed.

To ensure the smooth progress of the 2022 Winter Olympics, relevant departments will also do their best to ensure the transport services for the Games. Forty pairs of Winter Olympics trains will be arranged daily, and special trains will be added to handle the potential increase in passengers during the opening and closing ceremonies. The ticketing service for the Winter Olympics has also been streamlined to provide reservations service for registered personnel and ticket-holders of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Multi-channel booking methods and policies to expand the range and intensity of ticket discounts will also be implemented to ensure greater passenger access.