Migrant workers given 20 day advance access to Spring Festival train tickets

Migrant workers will be able to purchase train tickets for 'chunyun' earlier than ever before, the China Railway Corporation announced Saturday. 

Chunyun (春运, literally 'spring travel') is the chaotic travel period around Spring Festival, as migrant workers trek home to their villages and towns to spend Chinese New Year with their families. There were over 225 million train journeys during chunyun in 2013, with over 3.41 billion people using China's trains, planes, and roads over the holiday period. 

Employers of migrant workers were given early access to the train ticket booking system on Saturday, 40 days ahead of the first day of chunyun –January 31, 2014. Train tickets usually go on sale 20 days before the travel date. The corporation also announced that groups of five or more migrant workers will be permitted to buy tickets themselves without going through their employers. 

Spring Festival runs from January 31 to February 24, do not attempt to travel during this period. 

[Image via Wikipedia]