Spring Festival rush begins with surge in rail and air passengers

By Chen Zai

The 2026 Spring Festival travel season kicked off on February 2 and will run through March 13, lasting a total of 40 days. On the first day, Yichang saw increases in both rail and air passenger volumes.

In the rail sector, the Yichang Railway Department of China Railway Wuhan Group introduced two new high-speed rail lines - the Xiangyang–Jingmen Line and the Wuhan–Yichang Line - and added four new high-speed railway stations: Yichangbei, Dangyangxi, Zhongxiangnan, and Jingmennan.

Across all 15 passenger stations under the Yichang Railway Department, 2026 Spring Festival ridership is expected to reach 2.32 million, up 6.3 percent from 2025. On the first day, Yichang East ran 189 trains and Yichangbei ran 54.

In aviation, Yichang Sanxia International Airport operated 82 flights on the first day of the travel season, transporting 9,557 passengers, a 31.8 percent increase compared with the first day of the 2025 Spring Festival travel season. Over the entire 2026 Spring Festival travel season, the airport plans to operate 3,540 flights, up 6.9 percent year-on-year.

Also on the first day, Yichang launched its 2026 Youth Volunteer “Warm Winter Campaign.” A total of 248 youth volunteers will assist travelers at major transport hubs such as railway stations and the airport. Over 400 volunteers have been recruited and will be deployed at 56 posts across the city throughout the travel season.

Reporters Deng Yuqin, Mei Yuan, Zhang Lianghong, and Correspondent Wang Tingting, Dou Changcui, Chen Long, Liu Mingjie, Zhou Wu contributed to this story.