China's Spring Festival peak transport period has come earlier than expected, mainly due to shorter interval between New Year's Day and the Chinese traditional New Year.

China's Spring Festival peak transport period has come earlier than expected, mainly due to shorter interval between New Year's Day and the Chinese traditional New Year. [CCTV]

In Beijing, the railway authority has moved the first day of the Spring Festival peak transport period to January the 1st. The Beijing West Railway Station, one of the largest in the country, will transport 5.1 million passengers out of Beijing during the period, 10 percent more than last year. The station will also open more booking offices to satisfy growing demand.

Jin Long, an official from Beijing West Railway Station, said, "We have made various emergency plans. Personnel have been trained and drilled. In case of emergency, we will make timely contact local government and other concerned departments."

Communication hubs in southwest China, Chongqing and Chengdu are also facing waves of student passengers. To prevent ticket shortages, local railway authorities have opened student-only booking offices, initiated a telephone booking system, and prolonged the booking time to 15 days.

The Ministry of Transport estimated that during the Spring Festival transport period, a total of 2.07 billion journeys will be made by road, while another 29 million will travel by water.

(CCTV January 1, 2009)