Railways gear up for travel spike as school time nears
A high-speed railway attendant greets student passengers in neighboring Zhejiang Province.
Railway authorities in the Yangtze River Delta region are stepping up their support services in anticipation of estimated travel spikes in the next two weekends as the new semester starts, China Railway Shanghai Bureau said.
Nearly 40,000 student passengers traveled from August 20 to 26, and pre-sold student tickets indicate the number will climb over 300,000 in the next 15 days as of Thursday, the bureau said.
As well as observing regular epidemic prevention and control measures, nationwide railways are taking more actions against the risk of infection.
They are opening more student ticket windows and strengthening their messages about self-protection, a job that is being done, for example, by machines like those at Deqing Station in neighboring Zhejiang Province.
A robot at Deqing railway station in Zhejiang Province reminds people to wear masks.
Shanghai, Shanghai Hongqiao, Hangzhou East and other stations have stepped up ventilation and disinfection services in public places. They are also supporting local epidemic prevention departments' requirement of checking passengers' health codes or travel history.
Mobile consulting services have been set in Suzhou, Wuxi, Xuzhou East and other stations, offering more convenience to students.
Also, joint pickup services have been launched by these stations and some universities.
"To offer students better services, we have beefed up patrols in key places like the waiting room, entry and exit points," He Yongguo, Party secretary of the Lu'an Station, said.
Recently, thanks to the help of staff members in Jiangsu's Wuxi station, 267 Tibetan students from Lhasa and Nagqu managed to get in touch with their teachers.
A volunteer checks a student's health code at Anqing station in Anhui Province.
