China braces for another travel peak

BEIJING - China's transport networks are expected to experience another travel peak Saturday and Sunday, when millions of holiday-makers return as the week-long holiday draws to an end.

Passengers are waiting to get on train at the ticket entrance in railway station of Suzhou October 6th, 2012. Millions of people renturn as the week-long holiday is to end. [Photo/Xinhua]

Trains are expected to carry a total of 7.7 million passengers Saturday while the country's roads are dealing with a combined passenger volume of 80.81 million, a year-on-year rise of 7.6 percent, according to the  ministries of railways and transport.

On Saturday, Beijing reported a 25-percent growth of inbound passengers from Friday on the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway while Shanghai witnessed a 10-percent rise in inbound passengers.

Meanwhile, 1.83 million people traveled by waters Saturday, an increase of 11.2 percent from the same day last year, said He Jianzhong, spokesman of the Ministry of Transport.

To cope with the rising passenger flows, transport authorities have added more trains and flights and self-drive travellers were advised to choose alternative roads to avoid congestions on major expressways.

The country witnessed a travel peak on September 30, the first day of the eight-day holiday bridging the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, with many expressways heavily jammed partially due to a new policy that made most expressways toll free during the holiday period for passenger cars with fewer than seven seats.