China braces for 155m rail users over holiday
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-02-02 08:49
 Passengers wait to board their train at a railway station in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province February 1, 2007. [newsphoto] 
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China's railway system is expected to carry some 155 million people over the upcoming Chinese New Year period, the most ever, as people flood home for the traditional festival, a senior official said on Thursday.
That record number -- equivalent to more than the entire population of Russia -- could be attributed to the government's decision not to raise ticket prices as it normally would over the holiday, said railway ministry spokesman Wang Yongping.
"The decision made by the ministry not to raise ticket prices has posed greater pressure on our work during the spring festival season," Wang told a news conference.
Rail and bus prices are normally raised to discourage people from traveling during the peak period, which officially runs from February 3 to March 14 this year.
But this year they were not raised as the government said it was trying to lighten the financial burden on poor migrant workers, who may only return home at this time of year.
"Because the ticket prices are not to be raised, a lot of travelers will choose to take the train during the peak travel period, causing a sharp increase in passengers," Wang said.
"The migrant workers are supposed to be the biggest beneficiary of the move," the spokesman said, but admitted that demand for tickets still outpaced supply and that transportation capacity was limited.
The ministry had prepared "seriously" for the situation, so as to ensure safety and provide better service for passengers, he said, without elaborating.
Chinese newspapers last year reported that migrant workers in some cites like Guangzhou in the south had resorted to wearing adult nappies on train journeys which were so crowded it was not possible even to get to the on-board toilets.
Chinese New Year's Day falls on February 18 this year.
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