Railway stations across China brace millions of passengers

WATCH VIDEO

Xu Rui, Deputy Party Secretary of Beijing Railway Station, said, "Travellers can get the ticket whenever they want, as the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway Line sees over 50 trains running every day. Normally, passengers can get ticket 30 or 40 minutes before a train starts."

A worker cleans a train at the Changsha Railway Station in  Changsha, capital of central-south China's Hunan Province,  Jan. 8, 2009. The Spring Festival travel period, known as  Chunyun in Chinese, will start officially on Jan. 11. Some  30 temporary trains are ready in Changsha as the preparation  work is in place to ensure the safe and orderly operation  during the peak travel season. (Xinhua/Zhao Zhongzhi)

The Ministry of Railways says this year China will open more high-speed passenger rail lines like the one linking Beijing and Tianjin.

Zhang Zhenli, Deputy Director of Spring Festival Trans. Dept., Ministry of Railways, said, "In 2009, we will open a total of five direct passenger railway lines, including one linking Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan and a line connecting Wuhan and Guangzhou. Those lines will play an important role in easing the travel peak."

The Ministry of Railways has also projected a "historic change" in 2012.

The ministry says intensive investment would extend total track mileage to 110-thousand kilometers in 2012, including 13-thousand kilometers of passenger lines on which trains could run between 200 to 350 kilometers per hour.

Editor:Liu Anqi