China's railway sector is gearing up for a new wave of peak travel as the student rush looms, the Ministry of Railway (MOR) said on Wednesday.

The transport peak is expected to take place on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, as millions of students return to school from around the country after a month-long holiday.

MOR has vowed to provide students with sufficient tickets, which are half the full price for a hard seat. Some rail stations have opened independent ticket windows for students only and put additional carriages into operation to cope with peak student traffic.

Local railway bureaus in transport hub areas have adjusted their plans to better meet the student requirements. Students passengers will also get priority when consigning luggage.

With millions of student descending on major railway stations, the railway travel volume after the Spring Festival is expected to hit seven million. Railway stations nationwide had carried approximately 1.8 million students by Wednesday.

According to MOR, more than 1.9 million tickets in the coming four days for students had been sold or booked out.

About 4.7 million student tickets had been sold by Feb. 19, while more than three million students had not yet bought tickets.

After an all-time high travel peak on Feb. 16, railway transport volume saw a slight decline when more than 4.68 million traveled by train yesterday alone.

(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)