China schedules 503 extra train services to meet rising holiday traffic

BEIJING - With more than 11 million trips expected to made on Thursday, China Railway Corporation (CRC) has scheduled 503 additional train services on the fifth day of the National Day Holiday.

Xi'an Railway Bureau has opened a new high-speed railway service linking Xi'an with Zhangye, both popular scenic spots, according to a statement released by the CRC Thursday.

Nanchang Railway Bureau also added new rail services making it more convenient for people to travel from Fujian and Jiangxi provinces to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an and Nanchang.

Many passengers travelling on these lines are visiting their families, the statement said.

As one of China's two "Golden Weeks", this year the National Day holiday has been extended by one day to include the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Oct 4.

On Wednesday, almost 10.7 million passenger trips were made by rail, up by 155,000 or 1.5 percent from the same period of last year. On Oct 1, 15.03 million trips were made, an all-time high, according to the CRC statement.

To cope with the high passenger flows, Shenyang Railway Bureau opened more ticket booths to ease queues for ticket sales, changes and refunds.

At the entrances to Jinan railway station in the capital of Shandong Province, there are no longer staff checking the tickets and ID cards of passengers. Passengers place their ID cards and tickets on the gate machines, and infrared cameras scan their face before allowing them into the station. Queues at the entrances moved smoothly using the new system.

"It only takes three seconds for passengers to pass through the gate using the new facial recognition system. It saves manpower and avoids errors in manual checks," said Cheng Xiaowei, a staff member at the station.