国内英语资讯:Across China: Migrant workers find easier way home at Spring Festival_时事

国内英语资讯:Across China: Migrant workers find easier way home at Spring Festival

To meet the growing demand, China has been expanding its railway network at an uNPRecedented pace for decades, with the total operational length of high-speed railways reaching 29,000 km by the end of last year.

One of the country's major newly-built railways is the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which started service last year and links Hong Kong with more than 40 cities on the Chinese mainland via direct rail services.

"The railway makes it more convenient for those working in Hong Kong to return to the mainland for family gatherings," said Siu Kin-Po, head of the Guangzhou center of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions.

SMARTER TRAVEL

Liao has taken trains several times, but it was his first time to use a self-service machine to check in at the railway station.

Liao followed the instructions on the machine that explicitly explains what to do.

He put both his ticket and ID card onto the slot of the machine and waited for the facial recognition system to identify his face before the gate opened to let him pass. The whole process took less than 10 seconds.

A total of 595 self-service check-in machines have been deployed at the railway stations in Guangdong, Hunan and Hainan to streamline the check-in process, according to China Railway Guangzhou Group Co. Ltd.

Other smart technologies such as virtual reality and smart navigation machines have also been used in Chinese railway stations to help travelers ease the pressure during the travel rush.