China's Golden Week Day 1 witnesses record-breaking railway passengers

On the first day of the Golden Week holidays, September 29, the national railway transported 20.98 million passengers, setting a new record for single-day passenger volume in history. Analysts predict that this year will be the busiest Golden Week for five years.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday will last for eight days, coinciding with the second half of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Family travel, tourism, and sports event attendance are set to combine leading to a surge in travel demand, whether it is by railway or air.

On September 30, it is estimated that the national railway will transport 17.6 million passengers, with 12,180 passenger trains in operation, including 1,594 additional trains. Although it has fallen compared to the day before, it remains at near record levels.

According to the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, the monitoring of 500 important nodes on 71 expressways revealed that the traffic volume increased by 53.87 percent compared to the previous day and 37.38 percent compared to the same period last year, from 6 pm on September 28 to 6 pm on September 29.

On September 29, a netizen in Shanghai shared on social media that despite leaving one day in advance, they were still stuck on the expressway from noon until the next morning. It took them 18.5 hours to travel from downtown Shanghai to the city's suburban Chongming Island, which is approximately 100 kilometers away.

The ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou has led to a surge in demand for water passenger transportation in Zhejiang Province, resulting in an expected total number of water passengers during the holiday period exceeding 2.3 million, with a year-on-year growth of over 30 percent.

To ensure safe water travel, the maritime department of Zhejiang Province has conducted additional safety inspections for passenger ships in advance and issued timely safety reminders for ship navigation.

The Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security announced on the evening of September 29 that the traffic on national and provincial highways has gradually returned to normal since Friday evening. Although there are still some sections experiencing heavy traffic and slow-moving vehicles, no traffic accidents resulting in five or more deaths have been reported.

Public security traffic management departments at all levels across the country have made advance plans and deployed staff to handle the high volume of holiday travelers. They have strengthened command and dispatch, provided high-level services and maximized the deployment of personnel and equipment to the front line.

Major railway stations have increased staff and improved passenger guidance services in crowded areas. They have also installed warning signs and carpets to ensure passenger safety during rainy days.

Several cities, including Beijing, have arranged backup trains and drivers for various subway lines and have added additional trains in a timely manner to alleviate pressure caused by large passenger flows in certain areas.