3.41bn passenger trips expected during Spring Festival rush

Public transportation networks are expected to accommodate more passengers during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, as millions of people will board trains and buses across the nation to journey home for the holiday. The number of passenger trips on trains, planes, boats and buses is estimated to reach 3.41 billion in the period before, during and after the holiday, the National Development and Reform Commission said Thursday. The figure is 8.6 percent greater than the number recorded last year, the commission said. Railway passenger trips are expected to rise 4.6 percent year on year to 225 million, while road trips will hit 3.1 billion, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, passenger trips made via water and air are predicted to increase 1.5 percent and 5.2 percent from a year earlier to reach 43.08 million and 35.5 million, respectively. The travel rush, which marks the world's biggest annual migration, will last for 40 days beginning on Jan. 26, 2013, the commission said. Railway authorities have vowed to make it more convenient for migrant workers to obtain train tickets. They will accept ticket orders from migrants' employers at 172 major train stations starting Thursday. The weeklong Chinese Lunar New Year holiday officially begins on Feb. 9, 2013.