The Spring Festival Transport from Data: Railway and Civil Aviation Passenger Traffic Increase
As the Lunar New Year celebrations continue, the flow of people across China has been accelerating. With approximately 11.15 million passengers choosing train travel yesterday, a 20% increase compared to the previous day, it is expected that today’s train passenger traffic will continue to grow by about 10% compared with yesterday, according to pre-sale data from 12306.
The increase in passenger traffic is not only evident in railway travel but also in civil aviation. Experts attribute this surge to the trend of choosing convenient, comfortable, and efficient modes of travel, such as high-speed rail and air travel, driven by the continuous improvement of residents’ living standards.
Data from the Ministry of Transport reveals that in the 15 days before the Spring Festival, railway and civil aviation passenger traffic were 177.54 million and 31.11 million, respectively, marking a significant increase compared to the same period in 2023. Railway and civil aviation passenger traffic accounted for 28.1% and 4.9%, respectively, marking an increase of 13.0 percentage points and 2.1 percentage points compared with the same period in 2019.
Zhou Jian, deputy director of the Information Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Ministry of Transport, emphasized the importance of highway commercial passenger traffic, stating that while its proportion has declined, it provides flexible and diverse travel services, playing an irreplaceable role in “end-to-end” travel during the Spring Festival period.
Arrivals in popular cities have continued to increase since the first day of the Lunar New Year. Cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Zhengzhou have seen a significant rise in passenger flow, with cities like Shanghai, Zhengzhou, and Guangzhou experiencing a growth of more than one percent in the fourth quarter.
Mobility within urban agglomerations is also accelerating, particularly on popular routes such as Beijing to Tianjin, Shanghai to Hangzhou, Shanghai to Suzhou, and Shenzhen to Hong Kong, where two-way mobility is booming.
As for standby train ticket applications, Harbin and Wuhan have continued to be the most popular departure cities. Passengers vying for standby tickets are advised to make reasonable travel arrangements in light of the high demand for travel during the Spring Festival period.