Millions to travel by train during holiday

People are expected to make a total of 22.22 million rail trips in the Yangtze River Delta region during the National Day holiday peak, 76 percent of the same period last year, China Railway Shanghai Group announced on Thursday. 

The rail travel peak of the eight-day holiday will last from September 28 to October 8, and short-distance rail trips in the region will hit 18.15 million, or over 80 percent of the total, the group said. 

The extreme travel peak is expected on October 1, also the Mid-Autumn Festival, with 2.52 million rail trips estimated in the region, according to the group. 

The combination of the holiday and the festival extends the break by one day this year, and the waning of COVID-19 in China and the resumption of cross-province group tours had raised confidence in travel, the group said. 

A total of 94 extra trains will be arranged on routes such as Shanghai-Nanchang, Shanghai-Xiamen, Hangzhou-Fuzhou, Hefei-Beijing, Shanghai-Guangzhou, Shanghai-Shijiazhuang, Nantong-Shenzhen, and short-distance routes of Shanghai-Hangzhou, Shanghai-Nanjing, Hangzhou-Huangshan, Nanjing-Anqing and Hangzhou-Ningbo to satisfy demand, the group said. 

Rail authorities will be stepping up security checks and epidemic prevention measures, including disinfection and temperature checks, during the holiday, it said.