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Cheaper train fare for migrants
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-28 09:09
The fare for temporary holiday trains, which are mostly
taken by migrant workers, will not rise during the Spring Festival peak,
officials with the rail authorities said Monday.
The policy will not cover sleeper passengers or express trains. A railway
spokesman said the move is an effort by the Central Government to provide more
benefits to migrants.
The number of migrant workers in China is more than all other travelers
combined who take trains during the Spring Festival peak. During the travel peak
period of 2005, more than half of the temporary holiday train passengers in
Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces were migrants.
With the preferential policy in place, a larger number of migrants will be
able to take these temporary trains back to their hometowns.
The railway ministry has ordered stations expecting
large numbers of migrant passengers to prepare emergency plans ahead of the
travel peak. The stations have also been asked to contact local governments to
arrange for group train tickets early and offer temporary train services earlier
than past years.
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