The Yangtze River Delta Railway authorities have announced the region's 2025 Spring Festival travel plan, estimating they will handle 97 million passengers over the 40-day seasonal travel rush, lasting from Jan 14 to Feb 22.

This represents a 5.1 percent year-on-year increase, setting a record. To manage the peak travel, the railway will add around 400 trains both ways, with more than 1,700 trains running on peak days.

The Spring Festival travel rush will feature diverse passenger flows, including students, migrant workers, tourists and family visits. The travel demand is expected to be strong, especially with overlapping travel peaks before and after the holiday.

Long-distance migrant workers traveling to regions like Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, as well as to Chongqing, will begin early, while students' return trips are expected to coincide with other peak travel, resulting in heightened passenger flow.

Notable transportation hubs such as Shanghai, Jiangsu's provincial capital Nanjing, and Zhejiang province's capital Hangzhou will see heavy passenger traffic. Key high-speed rail routes like the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Hong Kong and the Xuzhou-Lanzhou lines will be particularly busy.

The railway will operate an optimized train schedule to meet demand, adding 250 direct trains and 148.5 regional trains. Additionally, flexible pricing strategies will help balance the flow of passengers and make travel more affordable.

Discounts are being offered of up to 80 percent off for slow trains and 70 percent off for high-speed trains. Special discounts will also be available for return trains.

Source: Shanghai Observer