Taiwan earthquake: mainland China rail services back to normal in time for Ching Ming travel rush
- 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
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.
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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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.
Intercity routes, including Beijing-Tianjin, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong, Shanghai-Suzhou and Shanghai-Hangzhou, were particularly busy, China Railway said.
Additional trains had been added in cities such Harbin, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Shanghai to meet increased demand, authorities said.
“Railway departments across the country are streamlining passenger flows at stations, enhancing security and validation channels, and providing increased guidance at critical points,” China Railway said on its website.
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Railway connections as well as intermodal connections with buses and metros had also been improved, the company said.
Road traffic on the mainland was also set to reach record volumes during the Ching Ming holiday, People’s Daily reported on Thursday, citing the road network monitoring and emergency response centre under China’s transport ministry.
The centre projected that peak vehicle traffic volume would be on the first day of the holiday, with around 60 million vehicles – nearly double the usual daily traffic, the report said.
