ZHENGZHOU, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Henan Province, a major labor exporter, has provided exclusive high-speed railway service to guarantee the safe return of its millions of migrant workers after the extended Spring Festival holiday.
On Saturday, over 700 workers from the city of Xinxiang, Henan, took a bullet train to Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. Nearly half of the megacity's population comes from other regions in China.
The exclusive commute service for migrant workers is part of Henan Province's efforts to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection during workers' journey back to work.
On Feb. 21, Henan's Department of Human Resources and Social Security announced that exclusive railway services will be offered to migrant workers who can register online to secure a ticket.
Statistics indicate that 9.78 million migrant workers returned to Henan before the Spring Festival for family gathering and about 3.69 million workers have returned to work by Feb. 23.
The over 700 migrant workers are among the first passengers benefiting from the service. Rather than the usual overcrowded journey, the quiet carriages of the train saw many empty seats and everyone wore a mask.
Li Jinsheng, a migrant worker on the train, said he understood and supported the stricter measures and checks during the critical period of epidemic prevention and control.
Millions of migrant workers like Li from Henan spend most of the year working in more developed provinces and regions in eastern China. The majority of workers are employed in labor-intensive industries, work as deliverymen or drivers for car-hailing companies.
As more cities announce they are resuming business, more workers hit the road and return to work, so local railway systems like those in Henan have taken on the responsibility to not only provide smooth transport service but guarantee a safer journey for passengers amid the epidemic.
Carriages of the train, especially seats and toilets, are disinfected several times every day, said Jiang Xinyu, head of Zhoukou East Railway Station in Henan.
Passengers are required to take temperature checks before boarding and those with abnormal temperatures will be placed under quarantine at designated places, according to the local railway company, Jiang added.
