Xinhua announced that the period of “Spring Festival Transportation” started on January 8, 2011. The annual massive usage of transportation related to the Spring Festival will take place for 40 days this year, from January 8 to February 16. Estimates are that the traffic volume will be 3.158 billion person-trips (a unit to measure the number of one way trips per person). This represents an annual increase of 9.1% over 2011. The railway system alone is expected to carry 235 million people. Meanwhile, the demand for cargo transportation is also on the rise. The joint government coordination committee expressed the belief that the situation is “not optimistic.” The primary concern for the 40-day window is safety. Another variable in the equation is bad weather. The steady supply of critical resources such as coal, gas, food, and fertilizer is also in question.
Source: Xinhua, January 8, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2012-01/08/c_111392564.htm