Monday next week is expected to be the busiest day for travel over the Lunar New Year holiday, with an estimated 1.13 million people to ride either the regular or high-speed rail (HSR) that day, the nation’s railway operators said on Wednesday.
On Taiwan Railway, an additional 256 services have been added during the holiday from Tuesday to Thursday next week, Taiwan Railway Corp general manager Feng Hui-sheng (馮輝昇) said.
The railway is expected to service an average of 742,000 passengers a day over the period, representing a 20 percent increase from regular weekday ridership of 620,000, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
Over the entire 10 days, 7.42 million riders are expected to take the Taiwan Railway, he added.
The busiest day is expected to be the third day of the Lunar New Year on Monday, with 817,000 passengers riding, Feng said.
Sunday and Tuesday are to be the next-busiest with 795,000 passengers each day, and 791,000 passengers are expected on Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile, the HSR is to add 461 more trains with 1.83 million seats, 29 percent more than usual, the railway said.
Peak southbound travel is expected from now until Friday, while travel in both directions is expected to be high on Saturday and Sunday, it said.
Over the 10 days, an estimated 2.61 million people are to take the HSR, peaking at 313,000 on Monday next week, it said.
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