
On the 26th, the train sped past Heihe Bridge in Ganzhou District, Zhangye City, Gansu Province.
Chen Lishe (image China)

Source: Ministry of Transport

On the first day of Spring Festival travel rush, in Beijing West Railway Station, volunteers from Beijing Bureau of China Railway guided the passengers.
Our reporter Zhang Wujun photo
Core reading
On January 26th, 2024, Spring Festival travel rush officially kicked off. Within 40 days, it is estimated that 9 billion people will set foot on the journey. On the first day in Spring Festival travel rush, what was the transportation situation around? What are the new features of Spring Festival travel rush this year? Facing the huge passenger flow, how can all departments do a good job in Spring Festival travel rush’s service guarantee to ensure people’s safe, convenient and warm travel? Please see the reporter’s visit that day.
On January 26th, the curtain of Spring Festival travel rush in 2024 was opened. On that day, the cross-regional personnel flow of the whole society is expected to exceed 182 million, including 10.6 million passengers sent by national railways, 169.71 million by highways, 2 million by civil aviation and 520,000 by waterways. "Railway air and water" closely cooperates, intelligent technology is widely used, and the travel service is intimate and warm … All parties cooperate to ensure the safe and smooth travel of passengers.
The road network is denser and the capacity is greater-
More choices
40 days is expected to be 9 billion person-times, with large passenger flow and large traffic volume, how can we make passengers feel at ease?
New lines and new stations were unveiled, the road network map was expanded again, and the basic transportation was greatly upgraded.
Flower City Guangzhou, the century-old Baiyun Station ushered in the first Spring Festival travel rush crowd after its rejuvenation.
"I am most looking forward to going home for the Spring Festival in a year." Ms. Cao, who has worked in Guangdong for 10 years, said, "In the past, it took an hour and a half to get to high-speed railway station by subway. Now it takes 20 minutes to get to the station."
The land of abundance, becoming a high-speed railway, ushered in a full moon on the first day of operation in Spring Festival travel rush.
"Air-rail combined transport, 3 minutes transfer, so convenient!" During the Spring Festival this year, Liu Haitao, a citizen of Chengdu, is going to Sanya for a holiday. Cheng Ziyi high-speed train gave him a new choice: take the high-speed train from Chengdu East to Tianfu Airport, and then fly to Sanya, which is convenient and efficient.
Qilu Dadi, Shandong Jining Daan Airport, ushered in Spring Festival travel rush for the first time after navigation.
Carry out the activity of "full love journey" in Spring Festival travel rush, set up "volunteer post for love service" and implement the "first inquiry responsibility system" … On the first day, Jining Daan Airport guaranteed 20 flights with a passenger throughput of 2,234 passengers. During Spring Festival travel rush, it is estimated that 1,000 flights will be guaranteed and the passenger throughput will reach 110,000.
Looking back on 2023, the traffic construction has a long way to go. The railway has put into operation a total of 3,637 kilometers of new lines, over 7,000 kilometers of expressways have been built, rebuilt and expanded, two new civil transport airports have been issued, the accessibility of domestic route networks has been expanded by 23%, and the operating mileage of new urban rail transit has exceeded 360 kilometers.
By the end of 2023, the national high-speed rail mileage reached 45,000 kilometers, and the expressway mileage reached 177,000 kilometers, ranking first in the world. The transportation network has stronger bones, smoother blood vessels and stronger transportation capacity.
In order to ensure the close cooperation between Spring Festival travel rush and multimodal transport, the threshold of transport capacity is adjusted to the maximum.
Looking at the railway, it is estimated that about 12,700 passenger trains will be arranged every day before the Spring Festival, and about 12,800 passenger trains will be arranged every day after the Spring Festival, and the passenger capacity will increase by 14.4% and 12.6% respectively compared with Spring Festival travel rush in 2019.
Looking at civil aviation, it is estimated that the daily average number of guaranteed flights will reach 16,500, which is basically the same as that in 2019, an increase of 24% compared with that in 2023.
On the first day of visiting Spring Festival travel rush, the capacity upgrade is obvious.
It is estimated that 1,603 flights will be carried out and 240,000 passengers will be transported, up by 61.9% and 111.3% respectively year-on-year … This is the first day’s answer sheet of Spring Festival travel rush handed over by Air China. "In view of the characteristics of Spring Festival travel rush’s’ visiting relatives fever’ superimposed on’ tourism fever’ this year, Air China increased flights and arranged 1,128 flights." The person in charge of China Air China said.
The first train leaves at 5: 34, and it is estimated that 143,000 passengers will be sent throughout the day … On the first day of Spring Festival travel rush, the Beijing West Railway Station was full of people and full of flavor. "As one of the most popular departure cities, Beijing West Railway Station is expected to send 4.92 million passengers during Spring Festival travel rush." Li Chao, spokesman and deputy stationmaster of Beijing West Railway Station, said that the station will start a 24-hour operation mode to ensure that passengers can "walk well" and "walk well".
Warm service, showing the taste of the year-
The journey warms the heart
After returning from Beijing to Chengdu for the New Year, Ms. Zeng was lucky enough to grab the quiet car seat of the G87 train. "Catch the high-speed train early in the morning, quiet car can make up a quiet sleep and the journey is easier."
At the end of last year, China Railway Beijing Bureau set up a new quiet car on the G87 train. This year, the number of EMU trains serving quiet car in Spring Festival travel rush has expanded to 72, involving many high-speed rail lines such as Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou, Jingha, Shanghai-Kunming and Xicheng. Many netizens commented: It’s so sweet!
This is a microcosm of Spring Festival travel rush’s service improvement this year. From "walking well" to "walking fast" and then to "walking well", with the increasing demands of passengers on the quality of travel, Spring Festival travel rush’s service pays more and more attention to details and is more considerate.
Key passengers are guaranteed and the road home is more secure. Stepping into the terminal building of Baiyun Airport, festive elements such as flowers and lanterns will decorate the departure hall and arrival hall. Volunteer service can be seen everywhere in the terminal entrance, security check-in, self-service check-in, consignment and other areas.
"For unaccompanied children, first-time passengers, etc., we have set up special security channels to provide a series of appointment services." Han Lu, deputy manager of the service quality department of Baiyun Airport No.1 Air Traffic Control Branch, said.
Also on 26th, China Southern Airlines released six ground service commitments of Spring Festival travel rush, the Guangzhou hub. "We have set up a service love ambassador in Spring Festival travel rush. In case of emergency, passengers can consult the staff wearing the love logo and provide quick services such as flight guidance, late arrival assistance and missed flight change assistance in one stop." The relevant person in charge of China Southern Airlines said.
The details are guaranteed in place, and the road home is more satisfactory. Shenyang Railway Department has set up free charging stations in all stations with heavy traffic to meet the emergency charging needs of passengers’ electronic products. In addition, many railway bureau group companies have equipped water heaters and other heating equipment in the washbasins of passenger stations, so that passengers can feel full of warmth whether drinking water or using water in winter.
Special new year’s goods on the train add interest to the way home. On the 4045 train from Qiqihar to Jiagedaqi, the carriages are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the goods on the table are dazzling. Besides fresh fruits, there are also special products such as Chai Yao tea set, velvet antler and venison jiaozi.
"The 4045 public welfare slow train passed through 32 stations, 18 boarding and landing points and more than 100 villages. The big collection was put on the train to facilitate the people along the way to buy new year’s goods. " Train conductor He Bin said.
The job is sent to the car, and the job is found in advance after the holiday. On the Fuzhou-Guiyang K478 train, a "train job fair" is being held in full swing. Eight large enterprises from Fuzhou brought 2,216 jobs in 50 jobs. According to the staff of Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, this year is the second year of the activity of "sending posts to get on the bus". Recruitment is made in advance before the holiday, and construction starts after the holiday.
AI debut, technical assistance-
Travel more convenient
Zhengzhou East Railway Station is located at the intersection of Beijing-Guangzhou, Xulan, Zhengtai, Jizheng, Zhengyu and Zhengfu high-speed rail networks. On average, there will be a high-speed train leaving here every 1.35 minutes, and more than 340 passengers will depart from here every 60 seconds during the peak period to all parts of the country. The efficient operation of the station and the shuttle of trains are inseparable from the help of the "Eye of the Sky" system.
"This is a highly intelligent integrated management system that monitors the passenger flow and equipment operation of the station in real time to ensure that every gate and every person works efficiently." Song Junying, Deputy Secretary of the General Party Branch of Zhengzhou East Railway Station Passenger Transport Workshop, introduced.
In Spring Festival travel rush in 2024, AI system appeared frequently, and information technology was widely used. Smart Spring Festival travel rush is making passengers travel more leisurely.
The upgrade of Railway 12306 makes it more convenient for passengers to purchase tickets. This year, Spring Festival travel rush, 12306 has been continuously updated and its functions have been continuously improved. On January 25th, the maximum number of visits in a single day reached 83.03 billion, and 20.901 million tickets were sold, setting a new record for ticket sales in Spring Festival travel rush. The average response time of each visit was 1.4 seconds.
"We help passengers to grab tickets more conveniently by pre-filling online ticket purchase requirements, reminding and subscribing to sales, upgrading standby functions, and providing transfer and transfer suggestions." Shan Xinghua, deputy director of the 12306 Science and Technology Innovation Center, said.
"Check at hand" applet to make self-driving travel more worry-free. When you open the applet, you can query the location and real-time status of highway charging facilities, and in case of an accident, you can also "call for help with one button" through the applet … This year, the Ministry of Transport launched the "e-road unblocked" WeChat applet in Spring Festival travel rush to facilitate self-driving passengers.
"Brush your face and enter the station" to shorten the time for passengers to check tickets. In front of the ticket gate at Korla Station, Ms. Liu, who was going to take the "Fuxing" EMU train to Urumqi, put her second-generation ID card in the identification area and looked up at the camera. In 3 seconds, she completed the verification of tickets, certificates and people and successfully entered the station.
Layout design: Shen Yiling
People’s Daily (January 27, 2024, 06 edition)