Shanghai Metro has announced that they will add more trains to Metro Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4 from February 9-19 to handle the extra commuters for Chunyun, reports Shine.
This year, the Chunyun, a.k.a. the largest annual migration of humans on Earth, will officially kick off on January 21 and end on March 1. And Shanghai Metro is expecting the 40-day period to bring tremendous stress to its operation.
Since the extensions of Line 5 and Line 13 opened to the public at the end of last year, the daily passenger flow on Shanghai Metro has risen to 9.6 million. And that figure is expected to exceed 10 million during the Spring Festival.
Image via shmetro/WeChat
To solve the possible congestion problem, Shanghai Metro will increase the operation time of Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4 starting from February 9, the fifth day of the Chinese New Year. Since the four lines pass through the three major train railway stations of Shanghai - Shanghai South Railway Station, Shanghai Railway Station and Hongqiao Railway Station - there is a good chance that people returning from the vacation may pile up there. Other stations have also been asked to employ more staff to maintain order.
Meanwhile, shuttle buses will be arranged at Hongqiao Transportation Hub from February 10-12 and February 20-22. With destinations set in suburban districts like Fengxian, Jinshan and Qingpu, the buses will help ease the stress during the Chunyun period, and will depart the station every 15-30 minutes.
[Cover image via shobserver]
