王选春：首先今年的春运和往年不一样，一个实名制开始了。对于旅客来说，买票上网也很难，所以上来车以后，旅客怨气很大，有时候跟我们发脾气，我们主张乘务员不要发脾气，首先旅客第一，咱们把旅客放在第一。班组要求每个职工发现老弱病残都要主动去迎送。

Wang Xuanchun: There's something new about this year's "chunyun". An identification card is required for buying tickets. Honestly, it's pretty hard for passengers to buy a ticket online. So when they get on the train, they are frustrated. Sometimes they will lose their temper on us. We told our crew members not to get angry. Passengers are our priority. We asked our crew members when seeing someone in need to offer help immediately.

冯欣：孙剑的职务是列车机动人员，负责处理火车上各类紧急情况。

Feng Xin: Sun Jian works as a flexible crew member who is responsible for dealing with various emergencies on the train.

冯欣：在春运期间，您作为工作人员最担心发生什么？

Feng Xin：As a crew member, what's your biggest concern during "chunyun"?

孙剑：最担心的，像我们这辆车就是车门还有上水口。车运行一晚上，必须得保证有水，旅客喝水这是最大的。因为这车是往东北去的，冬天气温比较冷，外面注水口注完之后，它就要冻。一冻之后，水压顶不上去了，就全部冻死了。

Sun Jian: I'm most concerned about the doors and the water tank's opening. We have to make sure there's enough water for passengers at night. This is most important..The train is heading to Northeast China, and it is freezing there. When we finish filling the tank with water, the opening will freeze very quickly. Once it's frozen, the water pressure will be low, and the water will freeze.

冯欣：据铁道部的数字，在春运的四十天中，每天将会有两千多对列车运行，比平常多出近300对，但是，为什么春运还是如此之难呢？我们采访了两位多年参与中国主要铁路工程的学者。我们从最基本的问题开始：春运到底是什么？

Feng Xin: According to the Ministry of Railways, more than 2,000 pairs of trains are operating daily during the 40-day "chunyun" – almost 300 more than usual. But why is "chunyun" still a big hassle? We talked to two scholars who have been taking part in China's major railway projects for decades. We began with the most basic question: What exactly is "chunyun"?

韩宝明：春运在铁路上有一个专门的期限，从春节之前的15天还有之后的25天，总共40天的时间，铁路(部门)采取一个特殊的运输组织方案，要最大限度地去满足旅客运输的需求，那么在这个期间会把大量的货物列车停开，保证旅客列车的运输。

Han Baoming: "Chunyun" is a specific time period in railway transportation. It starts from 15 days before the Chinese New Year and ends 25 days after. It lasts for 40 days. The railway department adopts a special plan for transportation organization to maximize its transportation capacity. So during the peak time many cargo trains are suspended to guarantee the operation of passenger trains.

冯欣：那我们大家都在讲这个春运难，这个难在什么地方呢？

Feng Xin：We all say that "chunyun" is a big hassle. What's difficult about it?

韩宝明：难主要是难在运能和需求之间的矛盾，因为我们现在既使是做了这样的调整，铁道部加开了几百趟临客列车，我们每天的运输能力也只有700万多人，极端的高峰会到800万人。700万人的供给和短时间内上亿人的需求，它是无法去比拟的。

Han Baoming: The main difficulty is the conflict between transportation capacity and demand. Though we have made adjustments, the Ministry of Railways has temporarily added hundreds of passenger trains. The maximum capacity is only 7 million passengers per day, or 8 million during extreme rush time. To meet hundreds of millions of people's demands, the capacity is just too small.

冯欣：为什么铁路是特别突出的一块呢？

Feng Xin: And why is railway transportation a particularly difficult problem？

韩宝明：因为春节正好是赶在冬季，公路运输的波动性很大。如果是某个地区下雪，或者是出现一些异常天气，公路运输无法正常进行的时候，大家把期望值就全部转移到铁路上，可是铁路是无法承担这么大的运量的。我们现在的运量结构，大概全国客运市场中公路应该占到90%左右，铁路占9%，航空占到1%左右，当然水运在局部地区它有一定的运量。在这个量级比例上，可以想象，如果出现在08年出现的这种南方冰雪天气，公路无法运行的时候，那么铁路是无论如何满足不了要求的。

Han Baoming: Since the Chinese New Year falls in winter, road transportation presents many uncertainties. If it snows in some areas, or the weather conditions are bad, road transportation cannot function normally. So people would turn to railways, but the railway capacity is not big enough. Let's look at the structure of our transportation capacity: Road transportation accounts for 90 percent nationwide; railways account for 9 percent, and airline 1 percent. Water transportation, of course, also contributes a certain capacity. Based on this proportion, you can imagine that if the 2008 snow disaster in South China happens again, and the road transportation cannot function well, it's impossible for railways to meet transportation demand.

冯欣：刚才您讲到这个运能的缺口，那每天大概有多少人是买不到火车票回家的？这个您有没有估计过？

Feng Xin: You just mentioned the capacity gap. Can I ask how many people cannot get a ticket home everyday? Have you ever estimated this?