The 40-day 2026 Spring Festival travel rush officially concluded on March 13, as the last return train slowly pulled into the platform and highway traffic gradually returned to normal.
During the travel rush, the city's comprehensive transportation system handled a total of 3.4767 million passenger trips, down 3.39% year on year. Affected by the diversification of travel modes, the overall passenger volume saw a slight year-on-year decrease, yet high-speed rail travel remained popular, with a cumulative 999,500 passenger trips, up 2.44% year on year. Meanwhile, driven by the continuous rise in private car ownership, the total traffic volume at highway entrances and exits across the city exceeded 10 million, reaching 1.06343 million, up 6.38% year on year. In addition, conventional railways handled 407,000 passenger trips, road transport 1.6733 million, civil aviation 38,700, and water transport 358,100.
Over the 40 days, no serious road traffic accidents or large-scale passenger stranded cases occurred in the city, and the Spring Festival travel rush was generally safe, stable and orderly, with a solid safety line built through a strong sense of responsibility. Behind these figures lies the dedication of countless frontline workers guarding "safety".
During the travel rush, Huaihua withstood multiple cold waves. Facing potential severe weather, the city's transportation system was fully prepared: more than 1,200 tons of snow-melting agents, 426 emergency transport vehicles and 271 emergency rescue personnel stood ready. They established a closed-loop mechanism of "early warning, notification, response and feedback".
"I used to worry about being stuck on the way with no help around, but now seeing the flashing police lights and workers in vests by the road makes me feel at ease," said Mr. Li, who drove back home from Guangdong Province.
No prolonged or large-scale traffic congestion caused by inadequate control, nor any serious road traffic accidents, took place during the period.
This seemingly ordinary "safety report card" was achieved through races against time. Relevant departments strengthened safety supervision over key areas such as "three types of passenger vehicles and dangerous goods vehicles" and passenger ships, strictly implemented the charter bus license plate filing system and the rule that drivers must rest from 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. to prevent fatigued driving. Meanwhile, they carried out blanket inspections on road passenger services over 800 kilometers, and tightened supervision over tourist charters and long-distance buses to ensure safe operation.
This year's Spring Festival travel rush in Huaihua focused not only on transport capacity but also on travel experience.
At Huaihua South High-speed Railway Station, Huaihua Railway Station and the comprehensive hub passenger station, a group of young volunteers in red vests were particularly busy. More than 100 volunteers from the Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League, transportation, traffic police and other departments shuttled through the crowds, helping the elderly with luggage and patiently answering transfer inquiries.
In terms of transport capacity deployment, the city made scientific scheduling in line with the peaks of homecoming, post-holiday return, family visits and tourism. During the travel rush, 1,886 passenger vehicles were put into use on average daily, with 21 charter trips per day. A total of 1.69 million road passenger trips were completed, including 321,100 during the Spring Festival holiday, fully guaranteeing smooth travel for passengers.
For migrant workers, the journey home was more relaxed this year. The city launched targeted "point-to-point" charter services, encouraging passenger transport enterprises to reach communities, factories and schools to proactively meet people's travel needs. Before the festival, 222 charters were organized to bring 10,843 migrant workers directly from workplaces to their homes. During the post-festival return peak, 379 extra buses safely sent 18,688 migrant workers back to work.
To meet diversified travel demands, customized passenger transport has played an increasingly important role. At present, all counties/districts except Zhongfang County have launched customized passenger routes, with an average of 4,084 customized passenger trips completed daily during the travel rush, providing more flexible and convenient options for residents.
Notably, with the popularization of new energy vehicles (NEVs), highway service areas in Huaihua launched support services. To solve charging queues, each service area adopted tailored measures, adding temporary charging piles, arranging dedicated guides and even deploying mobile emergency charging vehicles, relieving "range anxiety" for NEV owners on their way home.
Ordinary figures warmed the journey during the Spring Festival travel rush.
On February 22, the sixth day of the first lunar month, a customized express bus from Huaihua to Jingzhou was caught in heavy return traffic. Some passengers on board were anxious about catching high-speed trains. Zhou Tao, a driver from Huaihua Road Transport Group, calmed the passengers, quickly contacted the front shifts to arrange transfers and flexibly adjusted the route by exiting the highway early at Huitong and taking national roads, finally helping passengers board high-speed trains on time.
"Keep working every day, and you fear not thousands of tasks." This is a motto Zhou Tao often quotes. He patiently explained to anxious passengers time and again, remembered where each regular passenger should get off most conveniently, and helped elderly passengers with mobility difficulties. He did not think of his own dinner until all passengers were settled.
"Tired? This is just my job. I feel at ease as long as passengers get home safely," Zhou Tao said with a simple smile.
His plain words reflect the shared spirit of Huaihua’s transport workers. In this Spring Festival travel rush, countless frontline workers like Zhou Tao guarded every journey home and departure with responsibility.
The successful conclusion of the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush not only demonstrates the guarantee capacity and sense of responsibility of Huaihua’s transportation sector, but also conveys the warmth and humanity of the city.
(Translated by Yang Hong)