Group 1 - The Spring Festival travel season officially commenced on February 2, 2026, with the departure of train K4069 from Beijing West Station [1] - The first high-speed train G6701 also departed from Beijing West Station at 5:34 AM, heading to Handan East Station [1] - Beijing West Station is expected to send 145,000 passengers on the first day of the Spring Festival travel period, with a total of 5.155 million passengers anticipated throughout the season [5] Group 2 - To address high passenger flow, the station has upgraded the "036" care waiting room and added a standardized mother-baby room at the entrance of waiting room 8 [5] - The station is promoting smart travel services, including intelligent inquiry robots and self-service ticket information machines, enhancing the travel experience for passengers [5] - Starting February 2, Beijing West Station partnered with China Eastern Airlines to launch an airline check-in counter, allowing passengers to handle check-in, seat selection, and luggage check-in seamlessly [8]

Core Points - The 2026 Spring Festival travel season will start on February 2 and last for 40 days until March 13, with an expected passenger volume of 539 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.0% [1] - The peak travel day before the festival is anticipated to be February 13, while the peak day after the festival is expected to be February 23 [1] - Train tickets for the first day of travel will go on sale starting January 19 [1] Industry Developments - The railway ticketing platform 12306 will introduce new services such as free limited-time refunds for mistakenly purchased tickets, enhancing the overall ticket purchasing experience for travelers [1] - Features like standby ticket purchasing, online seat selection, and subscription reminders for ticket sales will be further developed to enrich the information service content [1]