People hustle and bustle in the Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 27, 2007. The first Spring Festival passenger transportation bagan for the Beijing Railway Stations to transport passengers earlier this year on Saturday. (Xinhua Photo/Song Weiwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Facing the world's largest annual mass migration of people, Chinese railway operators have come up with a variety of services to ensure a "safe and smooth" Spring Festival travel season which got underway on Saturday.

    The Ministry of Railways estimates the country's railways will carry 156 million passengers during the 40-day Spring Festival period. That's 4.3 percent more passengers than last year.

    Safety is at the top of the agenda of many railway operators.

    In South China, the public security bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has set up police patrols on board the trains. During a ticket check of passengers the officers are stamping tickets with their cell phone numbers. This allows passengers who have run-ins with thieves to call or send text messages to the police on board.

    "We stamp the back of train tickets to make the passengers feel safer. They are in danger they can call us for help," said Tang Huaien, a railway police officer.

    In southwestern municipality of Chongqing, the railway company has set aside a area on the train to help people suffering from anxiety attacks or exhaustion on the 12 special trains being put on for migrant workers.

    Sometimes trains that were expected to take a day to reach their destination can take twice as long.

    The migrant workers are often travel with huge bundles of their belongings and perhaps their year's earnings.

    The railway has set up "stress clinic" on board their trains where passengers can get a little psychological relief from the stresses of train travel, said Li Song, deputy head of the Chongqing Railway Public Security Bureau.

    "The families waiting for passengers want them home safely, which is just the target of our work," said Li.