China Toughens Crackdown On Train Ticket Touts During Festive Holiday

BEIJING, Dec 22 (Bernama)-- Police arrested 828 train ticket touts and busted 147 illegal selling points in a crackdown by China's Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Public Security earlier this month. A total of 710 ticket-touting cases were uncovered and 5,194 train tickets confiscated during the crackdown, said the two ministries in a joint statement. To fight against ticket touting during the peak travel season, the authorities would carry out online ticket-booking system and real-name ticket purchasing system, which requires passengers to provide their identity card number when buying tickets, according to the statement. The supply of train tickets in the country with a 1.3 billion population always fails to meet the demand especially during the travel peak seasons, and touts take advantage of this by hoarding tickets and reselling them at high prices. China is toughening its crackdown on train ticket touts prior to the 40-day spring travel peak season that begins on Jan 8, when migrant workers and outstation students rush home for family reunions. During the traditional Chinese New Year holidays, China's railways are expected to reach a record 235 million passengers making trips across the country, according to the Ministry of Railways. -- BERNAMA Malaysia