Chinese New Year Travel Rush 2024 Amid Freezing Weather

Author: Dian Kencana
February 7, 2024

China's railways have been operating at high levels, with the number of passenger trips served surpassing 12 million for five consecutive days. Photo: AP

SEAToday.com, Beijing-The 40-days travel rush, also known as "chunyun" in Chinese, has already begun. At the “chunyun” moment we will see hundreds of millions of people on homebound trips for family reunions and friend gatherings during the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year which falls on February 10 this year.

To meet the travel demand, China's railway system added another 1,789 trains on Tuesday (2/6). China's railways have been operating at high levels, with the number of passenger trips served surpassing 12 million for five consecutive days.

But, the rainy and snowy weather during the travel rush, caused lots of train delays and cancellations in several regions.

In response, railway stations in Beijing and central China's Wuhan have extended their operating hours and increased the number of service windows to facilitate offline ticket refunds and exchanges for passengers in case their trips are suspended.

Nanchang Railway Station in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, has established a waiting area exclusively for passengers affected by train delays, with designated personnel available to provide information and assistance.

The Wuhan railway authorities have mobilized a 2,000-strong workforce to carry out round-the-clock snow removal and de-icing operations.

Various operation teams of the Zhengzhou Railway Bureau in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, have used infra-red thermometers and telescopes to monitor the operational status of railway networks. These teams have also undertaken inspections of critical equipment, including snow-melting devices for switches and heating systems for power substations, ensuring their optimal functionality.

The National Meteorological Center renewed a yellow alert for freezing weather, as well as a blizzard blue warning, on Tuesday (6/2) with rain and snow forecasted to continue in southern China. Chinese authorities have expected this year’s travel rush to set a new record of 9 billion passengers. (DKD)