The number of passengers is expected to reach 1.97 billion during China's Spring Festival transport season, a 40-day period due to beginning on Tuesday, according to forecast of Chinese transport departments.

The number is up 3.4 percent over that of last year.

Spring Festival, or China's Lunar New Year, falls on Feb. 9 this year. It is an important occasion for Chinese families to get a reunion.

According to the forecast, the number of railway passengers will rise 3.5 percent to 145 million; the number of road passengers will rise 3.5 percent to 1.79 billion; the number of water transport passengers will keep last year's level of 27 million and the number of civil aviation passengers will rise 12.5percent to 12.6 million.

All the transport departments have made plans to cope with sudden waves in passenger flows.

(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2005)