Chinese New Year travellers opt for rail as more snow arrives
Blizzards and ice storms in northern provinces close roads and runways
Snow and rain on the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday triggered highway closures, flight delays and cancellations, adding pressure on an already busy railway network set to break records for the hectic travel season.
Travellers returning to work and school were expected to make 10.3 million train trips yesterday, an 8.8 per cent increase from last year, the previous record-high number, according to the China Railway Corporation.
The corporation, operator of the world’s second longest railway network, had to add 800 passenger trains to cope with the soaring demand for seats as the week-long traditional period of family reunions came to an end.
Many travellers switched to rail as another severe cold front from the north brought snow and rain that disrupted road and air travel.
Snow was heaviest in northeastern Liaoning (遼寧) province, where all but three expressways were closed yesterday morning.
Runways at the airport in Dalian (大連), at the southern tip of the province, were closed for two hours in the morning when ice made runway conditions too dangerous.
At least 90 flights were cancelled and dozens were delayed as of 7pm yesterday, while strong winds shut down shipping services to and from the city, one of the main seaports in northeastern China.