Spring Festival travel rush with high return passenger flow, multiple data sets new historical highs

       The 2026 Spring Festival travel rush has entered the post holiday return peak, and railway passenger flow continues to remain high, with multiple data breaking historical records. As of 8:00 am on February 24th, Railway 12306 has sold a total of 351 million train tickets during the Spring Festival travel rush; During the Spring Festival holiday (February 15-23), a total of 121 million passengers were transported by railways nationwide, with an average of 13.41 million passengers per day, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. Among them, 18.733 million passengers were transported on February 23 (the seventh day of the first lunar month), setting a new record for the daily passenger volume during the Spring Festival travel rush, and maintaining over 15 million passengers for five consecutive days, ensuring safe, stable and orderly transportation.

       To cope with the peak of return passenger flow, railway departments in various regions have taken multiple measures to increase transportation capacity: 2129 passenger trains are planned to be added on February 24th, and 16.65 million passengers are expected to be transported on February 25th, with plans to add 1549 passenger trains; Multiple regions have added night time high-speed trains, implemented multiple unit operation for high-speed trains, and expanded conventional speed trains, with a focus on ensuring passenger transportation between popular departure cities such as Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Beijing and popular arrival cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Popular routes mainly include Nanning to Guangzhou, Wuhan to Shanghai, and Beijing to Shanghai. At the same time, for key groups such as migrant workers and the elderly, the railway department has opened up dedicated channels, set up waiting areas, and provided convenient services such as telephone ticket purchasing to enhance the return travel experience.