Railway trips surge after Lantern Festival

Passengers exit Hefei Railway Station on Feb 16, 2014. Passenger flow increased after Lantern Festival as migrant workers and college students began returning to their jobs and universities. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Holiday season train trips in China surpassed the 200-million mark on Saturday as migrant workers and college students began returning to their jobs and universities following the Lantern Festival.

On Saturday, some 7.88 million trips were made via the country's railway network, up 6.1 percent from last year's lunar new year and bringing total trips to 201.87 million during "chunyun," the peak travel period surrounding China's Spring Festival.

This year's "chunyun" began on January 16 and will end on February 24. The Lantern Festival, which fell on Friday this year, normally marks the end of the two-week lunar new year celebrations.

Although "chunyun" is nearing its end, railway authorities expected the number of daily train trips to remain high until February 24 due to a growing number of trips made by students and workers.

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