China's transportation network faces huge holiday strain

BEIJING, Jan. 10 Kyodo

China's travel agencies and transportation officials are preparing for the country's busiest travel week ever during the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Even with 6,000 extra trains scheduled for the period and ticket prices hiked 20 to 30 percent, nearly every seat and berth has been booked solid till two weeks after Lunar New Year on Jan. 24, travel agents say.

''Under current railway conditions they cannot add any more trains,'' the English-language China Daily said Wednesday.

Over three-quarters of Chinese still call the countryside home, but they are increasingly drawn to booming coastal cities to find work. During the Spring Festival -- China's holiday of holidays, when work stops for seven days in a row -- almost the entire nation heads for home.

Passenger volume is forecast to reach 1.66 billion over the holiday period this year, up 3% from a year ago, Xinhua News Agency reported recently.

Major airlines have added thousands of extra flights, working pilots and planes to the hilt to accommodate the expected 7.3 million passengers.

Railways are expected to carry 134 million passengers over the period, 5% more than last year, the China Daily said. Some trains will be set aside especially for migrant workers.

Specialized ''Spring Festival transport offices'' headed by leading officials will run round the clock to keep things running, railway official Yang Dasong was quoted by the China Daily as saying.

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