The Spring Festival travel rush in China begins Thursday, with the first additional train service leaving Beijing for Chongqing early in the morning. This is one of the measures aiming to enhance transportation capability, as authorities expect a staggering 2-point-98 billion trips over the span of 40 days. Wu Guoxiu reports.

Traveling around China during Spring Festival is never easy. Just like last year, millions are expected to criss-cross the country during the holiday. Authorities say the nation's transport networks are now more capable to handle the volume, but challenges remain.

LIAN WEILIANG, VICE CHAIRMAN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM COMMISSION "There will be enormous pressure after the Festival. Because of the late festival date this year, there will be over-lapping passenger flows of family visitors, tourists, students, and migrant workers. We estimate the maximum daily peak will be 100 million journeys. Road traffic will be under pressure. Last year, there was a 14-percent year on year growth of private cars on highways. It will be more challenging to secure smooth and safe road traffic."

There were 217 million motor vehicles in China at the end of last year. Four out of five were privately-owned. But authorities say that for the first time, there will be fewer road trips this year by about 1.6 percent. This is because people are choosing mass transport like trains or flights. The government's also worked on making tickets easier to get, particularly for trains.

LI WENXIN, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER CHINA RAILWAY CORPORATION "We added temporary trains to carry 1.5 million more passengers a day. We've added high-speed overnight trains. We're making full use of new railways. But railways can't fully meet passenger demand, and can only allow 390 million of the total 2.98 billion trips expected this year."

WU GUOXIU BEIJING "Train stations like this one witness the travel rush around every Spring Festival. This year, people are expected to make 8.8 percent more trips on trains, and 10 percent on planes. People are demanding safer, more decent and comfortable trips as they are going home or traveling out for the Chinese New Year."