Chinese passengers started to buy train tickets for the Spring Festival travel season at the booths on Wednesday.

 

　　This year, railway operators have adopted several measures to facilitate the purchase of train tickets ahead of the Spring Festival, the country's busiest travel season.

 

　　Sun Jianguo is an administrator at Beijing West Railway Station.

 

　　"We have adjusted pre-sale period this year. It is 20 days for telephone or online booking, while 18 days for those who buy tickets at the booth. We estimate that 40 percent of passengers will book tickets via telephone or on the internet, so it is not too crowded at scene today. "

 

　　Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Feb. 10 this year and is an important occasion for family reunions.

 

　　The busiest travel period will likely span from Jan. 26 to March 6.

 

　　It is expected that more than 220 million passengers will travel by train during the period, a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent.