Passengers are pictured at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 26, 2024, the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush. (Photo/Du Zixuan, Xinhua)

Beijing - China is taking multipronged measures to ensure safe and smooth travel for passengers during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, according to a press conference held on Wednesday.

Spring Festival, marking the beginning of a new year in the Chinese lunar calendar, is characterized by mass family reunions and a surge in travel. Each year, government agencies responsible for transport, weather, emergency management and other areas go all out to handle the travel rush associated with the festival.

This year, the Spring Festival travel rush will extend from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22. A total of 9 billion inter-regional trips are expected during the 40-day travel surge, with passenger volumes for both rail and civil aviation trips also set to hit record highs, said Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The upcoming travel rush will see an overlap of students, migrant workers, family visits and tourists, Li said, highlighting the significant challenges in ensuring smooth traffic flow, maintaining safety, mitigating adverse weather impacts, and coordinating passenger and cargo transport.

More on the road

Among the various means of travel, self-driving trips are expected to lead the upcoming Spring Festival rush, accounting for about 80 percent of all inter-regional trips, Li said.

An estimated 7.2 billion self-driving trips are projected during the travel rush, with highways likely to experience record-breaking single-day traffic peaks.

This photo taken on Nov. 28, 2023 shows new energy vehicles (NEVs) recharged with 600-kilowatt chargers at the supercharging station of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo/Mao Siqian, Xinhua)

With more people using new-energy vehicles (NEVs) for journeys home, transport authorities are accelerating the installation of charging facilities nationwide to meet the growing demand.

As of the end of November 2024, a total of 33,100 charging stations have been established across the country's highway service areas, with 97 percent of these service areas now equipped with charging facilities, said Gao Bo, an official with the Ministry of Transport.

To brace for the upcoming travel rush, highway service areas across the country are promoting the use of ultrafast charging facilities, optimizing the distribution of these facilities based on traffic volume, and introducing intelligent solutions such as charging robots, Gao added.

A police officer direct traffic near a port in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 17, 2024. Qiongzhou Strait witnessed a peak of travel rush of returning passengers on Feb. 17, the last day of the Spring Festival holiday. (Photo/Guo Cheng, Xinhua)

Since the Spring Festival holiday coincides with cold weather in most of China, Hainan, the country's only tropical island province, has long been a popular tourist destination during the period.

To better manage the influx of tourists and vehicles in Hainan, authorities are enhancing ferry services across the Qiongzhou Strait and upgrading piers to ensure safe ocean transport. Ferries specifically designated for transporting NEVs will also be put into operation, Gao said.

Ensuring safe journeys

According to weather forecasts, cold weather will affect China frequently during the Spring Festival travel rush, leading to significant temperature fluctuations that could threaten road safety and increase pressure on the power supply.

To mitigate safety risks, relevant departments have developed contingency plans, intensified emergency management training, and equipped themselves with various snow-removal and de-icing tools, said Wang Chongxian, an official with the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Efforts are being made to eliminate hidden dangers in critical areas, such as large-span structures, while also enhancing the snow-melting and ice-removal capabilities of power and high-speed rail systems, Wang said.

The NDRC will work alongside relevant agencies to bolster energy security for key routes and major transportation hubs during emergencies. Priority will be given to ensuring a reliable power supply for railways, particularly high-speed trains, as well as along highways, Li said.

Moreover, the maintenance and operation of charging facilities in highway service areas will be enhanced, featuring a strategic distribution of mobile charging equipment and a systematic arrangement of emergency charging facilities to accommodate peak charging demands, Li added.