Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    THE rush for a train ticket for a family reunion during the Spring Festival holidays is expected to begin today and last until the Chinese New Year’s Eve, which falls on Jan. 27.

    In the past week since the Spring Festival transport season started Dec. 15, train tickets for high-speed trains departing before Jan. 22 from Futian Station to Shaoyang, Huaihua, Yongzhou, and from Shenzhen North Railway Station to Yueyang, Nanning, Guilin, Zhengzhou, Hefei and Nanchang have sold out. There are still a limited number of tickets to Xi’an, Yichang, Chongqing, Wuyishan, Taining and Quanzhou, but they are selling quickly, Shenzhen North Railway Station said yesterday.

    Travelers can log onto the official website of the China railway ticket service, www.12306.cn, or call 95105105 or 96020088 to inquire about and purchase tickets.

    Shenzhen North Railway Station reminded travelers to arrive at the station at least one hour ahead of their departure to allow for the security check. The railway operator advises those who bought tickets with certificates other than ID cards to obtain a paper ticket from a ticket outlet before coming to the station, because the ticket counters at the railway stations are too crowded.

    In another development, Shenzhen Airlines will add 2,000 flights during the 40-day Spring Festival transport season, mostly for routes departing from and arriving at Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports.

    Sale of flight tickets for the first batch of 400 flights from Shenzhen to Yichang, Yinchuan, Lanzhou, Yibin and Xiangfan has started.

    Those travelers purchasing round trip tickets to Shenzhen for between Jan. 5 and Jan. 27, who will spend the Spring Festival holidays in Shenzhen, can enjoy big discounts of 75 percent off. The service covers 240 routes from more than 60 domestic cities. The dates of return tickets should be between Jan. 28 and Feb. 19.