More than 11 million people are expected to leave the city by train during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which begins tomorrow.

The number is up by 3.3 percent from last year, the city’s railway authority said yesterday.

The first 15 days will see the peak traffic rush, when the city’s three train stations are expected to see more than 5.6 million trips, accounting for nearly half the total traffic.

Most travellers — more than three million — are expected to leave from the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. Most high-speed trains depart from that station.

Restricted by railway line design, ordinary-speed trains still account for most journeys on certain routes, particularly southwestern Sichuan and Guiguizhou provinces.

The authority has added an average 8-10 services daily on these routes, but even the extra capacity cannot meet demand.

As of Tuesday, more than 3.7 million tickets scheduled before the holiday had been sold and over 88 percent of the tickets were purchased online —up 13 percent on last year.

The railway authority has also added ticket-selling machines at 16 spots in the city.

Residents can also purchase the tickets by scanning a QR on Alipay.