Surge in rail travel expected for Labor Day

Shanghai rail authorities are predicting that travelers will make 7 million train trips in the Yangtze River Delta region during the upcoming Labor Day holiday.

The travel peak runs between April 30 and May 5. The estimated travel figure represents a surge of 51.6 percent compared with the recent Qingming Festival, which fell between March 31 and April 5, according to information from China Railway Shanghai Group on Tuesday.

A total of 1.5 million railway trips are expected in the region on May 1, with daily traffic forecast to reach 1.16 million trips on average during the holiday, the group announced.

The resumption of work and production, campus reopenings and the extension of the May Day holiday are all likely to boost travel, the group said.

To satisfy the expected demand from rail passengers, an extra 50 trains will be put into service during the holiday. These include train services from Shanghai Railway Station to Shenzhen North Station, from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Guangzhou South Railway Station, and from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Zhuhai Railway Station, all on April 30-May 5. The services will run in both directions.

The operations of more than 70 trains will follow peak operation timetables during the holiday, and cover long-distance travel such as from Shanghai to Fuzhou, Xiamen, Nanchang and Jinan, and short-distance trips from Shanghai to Chizhou, Anqing, Wuhu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Huangshan, Fuyang and Hefei, according to the group.