Dong Zhen/Shanghai Daily news

The economic crisis will make railway passenger flows in Shanghai and other eastern cities difficult to predict and manage during the upcoming Lunar New Year's transport peak, railway officials said yesterday,Shanghai Daily reported.

"Because of the current economic situation, the 2009 Spring Festival transport peak will lead to new challenges," said Ying Huigang, deputy director of Shanghai Railway Administration, which manages railway transport in Shanghai as well as its neighboring Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.