Normally, college and university students from out of town start their break one or two weeks before the holiday begins, and they have left the city long before most migrant workers make the journey home.

This year, however, workers, students and tourists will be travelling at the same time, leading railway authorities to predict the 40-day peak period between January 17 and February 25 will be the busiest in the city's history.

The shanghai Railway Administration estimates 4.4 million passengers will pack trains out of Shanghai during the peak period, a number that translates into 110,000 passengers a day, an increase of 5.8 percent from last Spring Festival, said Liu Jianmin, deputy director of the administration.

"To accommodate the large number of passengers, we plan to operate 47 pairs of extra railway trains during the period, 12 more than during the past Spring Festival," said Liu.

"Another 14 ticketing counters will also be added to the current 56 counters in the terminal of Shanghai Railway Station."

As usual, ticket prices will jump during the peak season, with tickets for hard seats costing 15 percent more than usual, and prices for other seats jumping 20 percent during the week before February 1 and the week after February 3, the same as last Spring Festival.

The administration said it will take steps to ensure students get home in time for the Lunar New Year, which falls on February 1 next year.

"Other than the usual ticket-booking for students about a month in advance, we'll reserve some berth tickets and open a special ticketing counter for students in the terminal of Shanghai Railway Station," said Fang Jiangen, director of the station.

Many migrant workers are still worried they won't be able to purchase train tickets during the peak season.

Liu hongbin, a migrant worker from Anhui Province who has just finished work on a construction site in Pudong, was carrying several large bags and waiting in the terminal hall yesterday.

"I had thought of looking for another job to work on to make more money before going home several days ahead of Spring Festival, but finally decided to go home earlier because I'm afraid of being packed in the train," said the Anhui native.

(eastday.com December 31, 2002)