Three main stations in Shanghai confirmed yesterday’s record high of 480,000 passengers.

October 1st marks the first day of China’s National Day holiday that would last for a week.

Railway authorities said they have already added more trains to allow passengers to travel without hassle. Train capacities were also increased to avoid delays. The pleasant weather in the city also added to the increase of the passengers, they said.

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The recorded number of passengers from yesterday beat last year’s data on the same day. Shanghai, Shanghai Southern and Shanghai Hongqiao recorded 427,600 passengers last year.

Aside from full pack passengers using trains, interprovincial highways also experienced traffic jams yesterday. Highways became congested with vehicles lining up for hours before reaching the exits.

The Shanghai Road Administration Bureau said the accident last Tuesday in Liuhe Bridge, Jiangsu has contributed to the traffic jams in G15 Zhuqiao exit. The road officials also reported a 4 kilometer queue of vehicles as early as 8am.

Minor collisions were also identified at G2, G40 and G1501 entrances.

According to a Shanghai Daily report, a woman surnamed Zhao said she had to drive double the usual time. She drove for eight long hours from Shanghai to Nanjing’s Qixia Mountain, the report added.

Zhao said she left downtown Shanghai at 4:30 a.m. to avoid traffic. However, she wasn’t able to enter Nanjing until 12:30 p.m. Heavy traffic was encountered at Suzhou and Wuxi sections, she said. Furthermore she said after passing those expressway sections, the condition became better.

Meanwhile, the police reported a 20% increase to last year’s vehicle number on the road on the same day. There were 1.12 million cars hitting the highways on October 1, said the report. The police also said they were expecting 7.3 million vehicles during the holiday to pass the highways.

The traffic conditions also affected Shanghai Long Distance Bus Station buses that carried 70,000 passengers yesterday. Passengers were mostly going to Jiangsu, Shandong and Henan. Meanwhile, station authorities said fewer travelers are expected starting today.

TagsNational Day, Shanghai Southern, Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Road Administration Bureau