Advertisement
China’s ‘golden week’ travel to hit record 2.4 billion trips as rail and EV traffic surges
Hundreds of trains added to rail networks, and booming demand tests EV charging networks
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
China’s transport system braced for a massive travel surge on Wednesday as millions of people prepared to return to work at the end of the annual “super golden week” holiday.
Transport authorities added hundreds of extra trains and additional temporary electric vehicle charging stations to manage the rush on the final day of the week-long break, which included National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Ministry of Transport said the total number of journeys during the eight-day break was expected to reach a record high of more than 2.4 billion trips, which would be a 6.2 per cent increase over last year’s holiday.
Advertisement
China State Railway Group said it expected Wednesday to be the peak day for returning passengers, with an estimated 19 million people travelling on China’s vast rail networks, a 16 per cent increase over Tuesday.
The company said it had put an extra 1,880 trains into service on Wednesday. More train services would be added if further need arose on popular destinations and routes, it said.
Tickets were still available but selling quickly for popular routes such as the Shenzhen-Guangzhou line as well as the Guangzhou-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Beijing services.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x