China's railways cope with Dragon Boat holiday surge

China's railway network was expected to handle 19.73 million passenger trips on Friday, the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, as travel demand peaks nationwide.

According to China State Railway Group, the national railway operator, 1,028 additional passenger trains had been scheduled for Friday to meet rising demand. On Thursday, railways handled 16.74 million passenger trips.

As of 8 am Friday, railway ticketing platform 12306 had sold 51.59 million tickets for the holiday travel period, according to the company. 

The busiest cities for departures on Friday included Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an and Nanjing, while popular destinations included Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi'an and Shenzhen.

Railway authorities said they are closely tracking passenger flows and adding capacity on busy routes. Extra services have been arranged in key regions, including additional trains to major cities and tourist destinations, more coupled multiple-unit trains, and night-time high-speed rail services on popular corridors.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn