Labor Day kicks off with new train travel records
Passengers wait to board a train at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station on Friday.
Travelers made a record 1.37 million train trips in the Yangtze River Delta region on Thursday and are estimated to make another 1.5 million on Friday, the first day of the five-day Labor Day holiday, both surpassing the previous high of 1 million daily trips recorded after the latest Spring Festival, China Railway Shanghai Group announced on Friday morning.
The majority are short-distance and intercity trips, the group said.
An extra 39 train services with routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Ningbo, Hefei and Xuzhou have been arranged in the region on Friday to meet the surge in rail passengers, the group said.
Daily train trips on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday hit 864,000, 893,000 and 994,000 respectively in the region, up more than 40 percent from the same period last month as the coronavirus pandemic wanes in China, says the group.
An attendant disinfects a sink on G102, a high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South Railway Station.
A total of 335,000 passengers are estimated to make train trips via railway stations in Shanghai on Friday, also a record high.
The Shanghai Railway Station is predicted to receive 106,000 and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station 191,000, according to the group.
Four extra train services to Hunan and Anhui provinces and Xuzhou City from Shanghai will be arranged to meet added holiday demand.
Most train tickets between 8am and 1pm from Shanghai have already sold out, the group said.
A staffer checks the temperature of passengers at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station.
Rail passengers will undergo infrared thermometer temperature checks at railway stations in Shanghai and they will be required to wear masks during their trips.
The Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station will expand temperature-screening channels to speed up entry and exit.
Passengers are encouraged to seat separately and those with symptoms of illness, such as coughing, will have their temperatures checked again while onboard.
Passengers are reminded to prepare their health QR codes in advance to comply with public health precautions.
A staffer helps a passenger at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station.
