Rising railway trips expected as Spring Festival holiday nears end

Imaginechina

Railway passenger numbers are expected to grow on Wednesday, the last day of weeklong Chinese New Year holiday.

Some 11.8 million passenger trips will be made on China's railway network on Wednesday, up 7.6 percent year on year, as people return from their hometowns.

The railway system will add 1,091 trains to meet the travel demand, according to China Railway Corp.

The seven-day Lunar New Year holiday began on February 15. A 40-day period of heavy passenger traffic, known as chunyun, spans from February 1 to March 12.

During the 40 days, about 390 million passenger trips are expected to be made via railways, up 8.8 percent from the previous year, according to the company.