Every year, more than half a million migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta, an economic hub in South China, travel home by motorcycle to neighboring provinces and regions during the Spring Festival rush. They have to endure a long, uncomfortable journeys full of perils. This year they have an alternative. A special train left Guangzhou Sunday carrying hundreds of migrant workers for free.
The train left Guangzhou South Railway station at 10:30 am and is now heading to Guigang city, some 500 kilometers away in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This is the first high speed train providing free tickets for what are known as "motorcycle troops", ... actually they are migrant workers who have usually gone home by motorbike. In the past they had to ride up to 10 hours to get to the city, but thanks to the bullet train, the journey can now be done in just 3 hours.
The carriages are filled with a Spring Festival atmosphere. As you can see, the windows are decorated with traditional papercuts to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Before boarding, every migrant worker received a bag like this as a gift for the holiday.
There are 600 migrant workers on board, and starting from today till February 5, there will be a train every day taking migrant workers back home for free.
Their motorcycles were consigned a few days ago in Guangzhou. When they arrive in Guigang, they can pick them up at a nearby gas station refilled with fuel so that they can ride directly to their counties or villages.
