Beijing promotes 'Train plus Driving' travel scheme

With the APEC Economic Leaders meeting set to be held in Beijing next month, many government employees and others are being given a 6-day holiday.

The idea is to keep people off the roads in the capital so the APEC leaders motorcades can move around the city freely.

Traffic restrictions will also be in place, much like they were during the Olympic Games in 2008.

Noting all this, the Beijing Railway Administration has come up with a new plan.

As many vehicle owners in Beijing like to drive their vehicles out of the city during their vacations, rail officials are now offering a new service.

From November 4th to the 14th, drivers who want to head out of Beijing are being encouraged to put their vehicles on a train, which will then take the vehicle to their preferred destination.

The vehicle owners can then choose how they want to meet-up with their vehicles in their preferred destinations, either by train, plane or some other means.

From there, they can then access their vehicle while on holiday, then either drive it back to Beijing when their trip is over, or have the rail service haul it back to the capital for them.

The temporary service is being opened to six provinces; namely Zhejiang, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Shaanxi and Hubei.

These are the most popular driving destinations for travelers from Beijing.

Zhu Dianxia with the Beijing Railway Administration says the new service is based on a trial program to the city of Hangzhou they launched during the recent National Day holiday.

"We got positive feedback from our customers. They say it is a pleasant trip. It's a safer way to travel long distance, especially when elderly family members or children are on the trip. About 700 tourist families contacted us for that program within ten days of its launch. As such, we've opened up six different routes this time to meet demand."

Zhu Dianxia contends the service is better for the environment.

"Physically speaking, it is a green travel. I don't believe it will lead to traffic jam in destination cities. Carbon dioxide emission will also be reduced in the process."

The service will cost anywhere from 14-hundred to 24-hundred yuan, depending where you want to go.

Beijing's rail authorities say they are still evaluating whether or not to keep the chartered train service permanent.

Authorities say this will depend mainly on market interest.