Beijing tightens security for travel rush

BEIJING -- Beijing strengthened security in train stations and airports as China kicked off its annual travel rush on Wednesday.

Beijing West Railway Station, which is expecting to handle more than 5.5 million trips during the 40-day travel rush, has invited 400 armed police, 200 railway police and 650 volunteers to maintain order in the station.

"Every one of our administrative and logistics staff, instead of staying in offices, will go to the station squares and waiting halls for passenger guidance and security checks," said station spokesman Song Jianguo.

Beijing Capital International Airport, which is expecting to handle over 9.8 million trips, plans to adjust the number of security check channels and check-in counters in use according to how busy the airport is.

Volunteers and extra porters will be dispersed in the airport in addition to an increased number of police.

Taking place 14 days ahead of the Spring Festival holiday, the travel rush, known as "Chunyun" in Chinese, is considered the world's largest human migration, with over 2.8 billion trips forecast to be made by road, rail, air and water this year.