Workers wait at a train station in Chongqing on January 30, 2023 for the train to take them to work in Guangzhou. This is the first chartered train this year that brings workers from Chongqing to work in other places of the country. Photo: Xinhua News Agency

China's railway passenger flow continued to rebound during the 2023 Spring Festival travel rush that ended on Wednesday, with a total of 348 million trips taking place by rail, data from China Railway showed on Thursday.

Statistics showed that an average of 8.7 million passenger trips were made each day of the festival period from January 7 to Wednesday, recovering to 85.5 percent of the figure for the 2019 corresponding travel rush period. During the period, a total of 415 million tons of cargo were delivered via rail, maintaining high-level operation.

In order to meet travelers' demand, an average of 9,410 passenger trains ran daily during the 40-day travel rush, an increase of 6.8 percent compared with the same period in 2019, according to China Railway.

The civil aviation sector also carried more passengers during the Spring Festival holidays over recent years. The country's civil aviation transported 55.23 million passengers in the past 40 days, up 39 percent compared with the same holiday period last year, recovering to 76 percent of the level for the 2019 corresponding travel rush period, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed.

This was the first Spring Festival after China downgraded its COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B from January 8, with a marked increase in trans-regional movement of people. The demand for family reunions, tourism and sightseeing was fully released.

During 2023 travel rush, more than 1.5 billion trips took place by rail, road, water, and air, official data showed.

"China's railways, roads, waterways, and civil aviation sector maintained stable operation, with sufficient transport capacity, orderly services, strong emergency support, and a generally secure environment," said Zhou Min, an official from the Ministry of Transport, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

It's worth noting that China has taken multi-pronged measures against risks from COVID-19 infections, adverse weather events, and dysfunctions of transport facilities to ensure safe and sound Spring Festival transport.

While promoting paperless, contactless services such as online ticket sales and self-service ticket checking, transport operators nationwide are intensifying ventilation and disinfection at railway stations, expressway tollgates and other public transport venues to minimize the infection risks.

Global Times