Sources with the Ministry of Railways said tickets were already scarce in some regions and some passenger trains were being forced to overload.

Major railway transport hubs - including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu - have all entered the peak transport time earlier than usual.

The ministry has ordered domestic stations to sell tickets 24 hours a day during the peak season, while in some major stations temporary ticket booths are expected to be established to meet demand.

More than 300 additional railway lines will be used to transport passengers from major cities during the peak time.

Ministry sources said an additional 8,600 trains had passed examinations and were ready to run, while about 6,000 temporarily hired workers had also completed training.

Statistics show the country can expect a cumulative total of more than 130 million train passengers to be on the move between Friday and February 25, the official Spring Festival peak. The total travels made during the period by road, rail, air and ship could reach 1.82 billion.

Most of the commuters will be students, transient labourers and tourists.

According to a ministry source, the two days leading to the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year - January 29 and 30 - will be the most crowded. Passengers are being advised to avoid travelling at that time.

Following ministry guidelines, local railway stations have also taken measures to better allow smooth transportation during the peak time.

Jin Li, director of the Beijing West Railway Station, said his station will not sell platform tickets during the period to secure safety and order. The 2-yuan (24 US cents) ticket allows people to see off their friends or relatives from the platform.

Jin said the peak days for the station will be January 28 and 29, when the number of passengers may reach 240,000.

"To decrease pressure, each passenger is only allowed to take on board a suitcase weighing less than 20 kilograms," Jin said. He said suitcases above that weight would have to be stored with other cargo.

The Shanghai Railway Bureau has added 186 temporary ticket booths around Shanghai Station to meet passenger demand.

Almost 30 temporary waiting halls have also been established in the station's square, allowing passengers to wait for their trains in warmth.

The Guangzhou Railway Group has gone one step further with its sales by allowing students and temporary labourers to book tickets in advance, removing some of the pressure.

To crack down on railway staff illegally selling tickets, the group is forcing ticket-salespeople to relinquish their pagers, mobile phones and cash before starting work.

(China Daily January 15, 2003)