Taiwan earthquake: mainland China rail services back to normal in time for Ching Ming travel rush

Name: Strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years leaves at least 7 dead, hundreds injured
Uploaded: 2024-04-04T10:51:04.000Z
Duration: 3 min 33 s
Description: Strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years leaves at least 7 dead, hundreds injured

Wednesday’s earthquake caused major railway service disruptions on the mainland ahead of busy holiday period

Some regions are poised to see record railway travel volumes this year, authorities say

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After delays and cancellations, passenger traffic surged on Thursday – the first day of the three-day Ching Ming holiday – with an estimated 17.5 million railway trips expected that day, China Railway said. Photo: Handout

Sylvia Ma

Published: 6:51pm, 4 Apr 2024

Rail services in mainland China returned to normal on Thursday after an earthquake on on the east coast of Taiwan the previous day caused major disruption ahead of the busy Ching Ming Festival.

Passenger traffic surged on Thursday – the first day of the three-day Ching Ming holiday – with an estimated 17.5 million railway trips expected that day, according to the China Railway website.

Just 9.7 million railway trips were recorded on the first day of the holiday last year, the company said.

The deadly 7.3 magnitude earthquake had caused cancellations and major delays to rail services in eastern and southern regions of the mainland, including the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, as well as the eastern metropolis of Shanghai.

“During this year’s Ching Ming holiday, travelers have a strong demand for visiting relatives, paying respects to ancestors, and having outings,” China Railway said on its website.

Railways in the Yangtze River Delta region, which includes Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, were predicted to carry a total of 16.3 million passengers between April 3 and April 7, averaging 3.26 million passengers per day, according to Shanghai’s official Jiefang Daily.

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Strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years leaves at least 7 dead, hundreds injured

The projected figures marked an almost 20 per cent increase compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, and would be a record high for average daily railway traffic during the Ching Ming period.

Ticket sales data indicated a preference for short- and medium-distance travel during the holiday with cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Wuhan being the most popular destinations, China Railway said on its website.