BEIJING: China handled around 41.77 million passenger trips on Saturday, the first day of the 2024 New Year holiday, up 73.3 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Transport.
The country’s national railway system hosted an estimated 15.8 million passengers on Saturday, while around 23.49 million people traveled by road, 1.88 million by plane and another 600,000 by boat. In addition, the Ministry of Public Security said that China saw smooth road traffic on Saturday.
There were no traffic accidents with a single death toll of over five as of 6 p.m. on Saturday, said the ministry, adding that the total traffic volume from 6 p.m. on Friday to 6 p.m. on Saturday saw a 3.85 percent increase from 2022 and a 24.71 percent increase from 2019, based on expressway traffic data.
Railway authorities across China have taken measures to increase capacity for passengers and cargo to cope with high passenger flows during the 2024 New Year holiday.
Beijing South Railway Station optimized entry routes and opened all security checkpoints during peak periods to facilitate quick and convenient access for passengers on Saturday.
Zhang Xiao, a staff member at Beijing South Railway Station, told China Media Group (CMG) that “we opened the underground entrance halls for both the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway and the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway. The opening and closing times will be dynamically adjusted based on the passenger flow.”
There was heavy fog in some parts of the country on the day, and many passengers chose to travel by train rather than risk delays at airports. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
