Shanghai braces for record passenger numbers during Spring Festival

Record high travel demand is anticipated during this year's Spring Festival travel rush in Shanghai, with the city projected to handle approximately 49.15 million passenger trips.

The 40-day period, spanning from Feb 2 to March 13, is expected to set a new record for passenger traffic, according to the city's Spring Festival Transport Office.

The office announced on Wednesday that passenger volume to and from Shanghai during the busy period is forecast to grow 5 percent year-on-year. Rail travel is expected to see the largest increase at 6 percent, followed by air travel at 1 percent. In contrast, road traffic is projected to decrease by 5 percent.

A pre-holiday departure peak is expected around Feb 14, with an estimated 1.08 million passenger trips leaving the city as people journey home, visit relatives or embark on vacations ahead of Spring Festival, which begins on Feb 17, marking the start of the Year of the Horse. The return journey peak is predicted for Feb 23, with daily arrivals reaching 1.14 million passenger trips, representing an 8 percent increase over last year's peak.

The office also forecast that average daily highway traffic will rise between 3 and 6 percent during the travel rush, reaching between 1.32 and 1.37 million vehicle trips, which could potentially set a new record for the annual holiday.