Chinese transport strengthened for holiday travel boom

 　　BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have added extra travel contingencies¹ to ensure the smooth kick-off on Saturday of the world's largest annual migration².

　　With 3.41 billion trips expected to be made over the next 40 days' peak travel season, railway authorities arranged 358 more passenger trains on Saturday to start handling the estimated 5.2 million daily trips made by homesick passengers for Spring Festival, said Zhao Chunlei, an official with the Ministry³ of Railways.

　　The ministry has thoroughly⁴ checked the newly introduced trains and made emergency-response plans to guarantee rail safety, Zhao added.

　　The ministry's move is only part of efforts by central authorities, which have also geared up the country's road and shipping⁵ networks to cope with booming passenger numbers.

　　He Jianzhong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, said that 840,000 coaches will participate in the nationwide transportation and 13,000 ships have also been arranged to carry up to 700,000 per day.

　　China's airlines adopted a similar approach by increasing the combined transport capacity to handle 35.5 million journeys, up 4.9 percent from the same period last year.

　　During the 40-day period, the country's rail network is expected to handle 225 million trips, while long-distance buses will see up to 3.1 billion passengers. The combined figure accounts for 99 percent of the overall national capacity.

　　Spring Festival, the most important Chinese holiday for family reunions, falls on Feb. 10 this year, making the holiday travel period span from Jan. 26 to March 6.

1 contingencies   

n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一

参考例句：

• We must consider all possible contingencies. 我们必须考虑一切可能发生的事。
• We must be prepared for all contingencies. 我们要作好各种准备，以防意外。 来自辞典例句

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。