Rail expansion makes travel rush smoother

Three new railways are expected to help relieve pressure on China's transportation networks during the Spring Festival travel rush - which started on Thursday - granting faster and more diversified ways home during the world's largest annual human migration.

The Xi'an-Chengdu high-speed link and the new Lanzhou-Chongqing Railway, which opened in late 2017, and the new Chongqing-Guiyang Railway, which opened last month, now provide an easier way to get to the Sichuan-Chongqing region - a popular destinations during the rush - from the south, north and west.

This year, 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the 40-day travel rush. Train trips are likely to top 390 million, up by 8.8 percent year-on-year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.