Traffic embraces busiest day for holiday week

Passengers returning home or for work from the National Day holiday pack the approach to Beijing Railway Station, Oct 6. As the week-long holiday draws to a close returning travelers add to pressure on transport resources across the country. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - The China Railway Corporation (CRC) mobilized more trains to carry about 10.3 million passengers during the busiest day of the week-long National Day holiday that ends on Tuesday.

The railway operator plans to add 493 temporary trains on Tuesday as passenger numbers are expected to rise by 9 percent from Monday.

It sent 5,312 routine trains and 418 extra trains for 9.46 million travelers nationwide.

On Tuesday, some 470,000 people are estimated to return to Beijing, according to Beijing's municipal railway bureau. The capital city witnessed 452,000 inbound travelers and 415,200 outbound passengers on Monday.

Railways in other localities face similar situations. In Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, high-speed train tickets at the Jinan West Railway Station, a major rail station in the city, were sold out by 3 p.m. Monday. More than 54,000 people are expected to take trains there on Tuesday.

In Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province, about 174,000 visitors will depart from multiple rail stations. A total of 29 temporary trains have been dispatched to relieve the pressure on traffic.

Elsewhere, the Guangzhou Railway Corporation predicted that a staggering 1.26 million tourists will take trains in the Pearl River Delta area in south China on Tuesday, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent.

The National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7 has become an increasingly common time to visit tourist attractions in China thanks to rising incomes and more willingness to spend on leisure and entertainment.

For the whole holiday week, the CRC expects to see a total of 68 million passengers travel through the country's railways.