One hard fact for travelers banking on trains is the per capita railway mileage of only 6 cm, shorter than a cigarette. What's worse, many rail tracks must serve dual purposes as passenger and freight transport.

"When traffic is lighter, it's easy for people to travel light-hearted. At rush periods, many passengers have already grappled with road traffic jams before facing boisterous crowds and long hours waiting in railway stations. They have reason to be less tolerant," says Chai. He has been working with the Beijing bureau for 20 years.

A woman rests with her children outside the Hangzhou Railway Station in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 8, 2009. The Spring Festival travel period, known as Chunyun in Chinese, began to see its passenger peak as the college students and migrant workers started to return home.

The unpredictable

The loudest public complaint zeroed in on ticket shortages as freezing temperatures and biting winds compounded the resentment of standing in the open air for hours. The railway authority, however, deemed safety the top priority concerning harmony.

In a mobilization order issued in early January, China's Railroad Police Authority under the Railway Ministry urged its branches across the country to stay high alert for "the unpredictable".

The top priority, it said, was to ward off hidden risks from hazardous, combustible and explosive articles as their effects could be disastrous. The second concern was to prevent stampedes that might lead to mass injuries or deaths. Last was to beware of foul weather such as that which ravaged southern China early last year stranding huge numbers of people in railway stations and posing new risks.

"Safety is extraordinarily significant this year because the financial crisis has left many people jobless and with less cash. For a harmonious Spring Festival, it is essential to ensure all passengers, especially rural migrants and those on low incomes, can travel home safely with salaries and bonuses secure in their pockets," Chai says.

The railway authority has required all luggage to be checked thoroughly. To ease passenger numbers at stations, they are reminding travelers not to arrive too early. Arriving two hours ahead of the departure time is enough, they say.