Beijing's subway is ready to cater for hundreds of millions of people rushing for family reunion and festival activities during the coming Spring Festival, or China's Lunar New Year, which will fall on Jan. 29 this year.

Information from the municipal transportation departments show on Tuesday that Beijing's four subway lines will see 6.8 million passengers during the Spring Festival rush season which will last for 40 days from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22, a year-on-year increase of 5.13 percent.

To handle these passengers, Beijing Municipal Railway Administration has prepared 10 pairs of makeshift passenger trains and has worked out emergency plans to handle sudden passengers peaks.

During Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, however, interval for every two trains running on the four lines will be two minutes longer than usual, according to the administration.

Meanwhile, the municipal government has intensified efforts to guarantee the safety of passengers during the festival season. Passengers are banned from carrying dangerous chemicals and materials that are easy to be ignited aboard trains.

Since the year 2000, China lengthened its three major public holidays, Spring Festival, May Day and National Day, from three days to seven days. This has created so-called "golden weeks," when people can travel across the country and gather with families.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2006)