Extra trains for Spring Festival rush

Extra trains will be pressed into service during the spring travel rush next year, railway officials said yesterday as they responded to fears that tickets would be difficult to get at the last minute.

The booking period has been extended, China Railway Corporation announced at the weekend, and tickets are now to be made available 60 days ahead of departure dates instead of the previous 20.

That means tickets for travel on February 4, first day of the 40-day chunyun — the travel period around the Spring Festival — will be available on December 7.

The move has been welcomed by migrant workers and college students who will now be able to book return trips at the same time, yesterday’s Legal Evening News reported.

But those without definite travel plans worry they won’t be able to buy tickets for a trip on the spur of the moment, the newspaper said.

Railway officials said the extra trains would meet that demand. Decisions on how many and on what dates to put on extra services would depend on demand.

Some people told the newspaper that the longer booking period would see a rise in the number of tickets being exchanged or returned with some passengers buying several tickets for different dates to make sure of a seat.

However, railway officials assured the paper that measures would be in force to deal with the problem, though they gave no further details.

The period around Spring Festival, which is on February 19 next year, is considered the world’s biggest human migration with millions of people eager to get home on the most important day of the year for family reunions.