Nanyang prepares for 2018 Spring Festival travel rush

The 2018 Spring Festival travel rush starts on Feb 1. According to estimates, there will be more than 11.8 million people traveling via railway, highway and airplane through Nanyang, Henan's largest prefecture-level city by permanent resident population.

In order to deal with the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush, local departments have responded with temporary passenger trains and increased flight frequencies to ensure smooth travels.

An official from Nanyang Municipal Development & Reform Commission revealed that compared with railway and air travel, it is road transport which will take the brunt of the pressure due to road construction and an increase in car ownership. It is expected that Nanyang roads will see over 10.8 million passengers during the period.

Railways and air routes are expected to carry 858,000 and 122,000 passengers this Spring Festival travel rush, an increase of 3 percent and 20 percent respectively from the previous year.

A total of 101 trains will be deployed daily to carry passengers to and from Nanyang during the Spring Festival travel rush. [Photo/Nanyang Daily]

A total of 101 trains will be deployed daily to carry passengers to and from Nanyang. Furthermore, among the four temporary trains to be added, two will head for Guangzhou, one for Shenzhen and one for Beijing.

Nanyang Airport will schedule around 1,128 flights, carrying passengers to 16 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. There will also be 170 extra flights added, mainly for air routes to Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Guangzhou.

The highway authorities in Nanyang will schedule an average of 3,388 coaches daily to meet the surging demand, and furthermore open direct lines to mining enterprises, specialty schools and remote villages. In addition, 150 extra coaches are in reserve for peak periods and transport capacity shortages due to extreme weather.