(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-18 22:46

It is estimated that Beijing will have 30.09 million passengers in the coming Chunyun, up seven percent from last year's figures. Trains are set to carry about 21.03 million people, up six percent, and the number of people using Capital International Airport is estimated to surge 10 percent to 6.1 million. Long-distance coaches are predicted to carry 2.96 million people, 4.9 percent more than last year.

Northwestern traffic hub Xi'an has been sending a record of 100,000 people every day since Monday, about 20,000 more than the number in previous years.

In Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, the number of passengers during this year's Chunyun shall hit a new high of 5.1 million people.

Guangzhou is even asking for help from the Railways Ministry for more trains, as estimated passenger numbers in the southern province are set for the first time to surpass 20 million.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is set for its second tough test: Jia Nailin, vice head of the Lhasa Railway Station, estimated that the station will deal with around 100,000 passengers during Chunyun, up 9.8 percent.

While railway stations across China are adding temporary trains to ease the pressure, different measures are taken to ensure the safety of travellers.

Northeast Heilongjiang province ordered tightened inspection on overloading, and the numbers of tickets sold for different sections of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway are strictly controlled.

In Qingdao of Shandong, where the Olympic sailing events are to take place, the more than 200 staff with the railway station have gone through training and maneuvers.

"Such training was conducted each year," said Wu Xiaojun with the railway station who had worked as drivers for ten years.

Learning from its bloody lesson, Wuhu railway station plans to add 20 armed policemen and several volunteers to keep order on the platform, according to Wu.

However, addressing the safety issue is not the responsibility of just the railway departments, noted Wang Kaiyu, sociology professor with the Anhui Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

"Flows of migrant workers and students are two major burdens for Chunyun," he said, "but people tend to pay more attention to the former."

Wang suggests adjusting the time of college holidays so as to have the two flows avoiding each other.

Besides, he believes that colleges should enhance safety education among students. "After all, students are young and lack social experience," he said.

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