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China's railway authorities aregearing up for a real-name ticket selling system to stop ticketscalping during the upcoming Spring Festival traffic rush. Passengers walk on the platform after their arrival in Hefeirailway station in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province,Jan. 3, 2010. The railway service in Hefei railway station facedpassenger peak as the new year holiday came to an end. (Xinhua FilePhoto) Photo Gallery The pilot system announced Friday requires passengers to show theirID cards or other identification documents when purchasing traintickets at 37 stations in the southern Guangdong and Hunanprovinces, and also the southwestern province of Sichuan. Millions of migrant workers from inland provinces like Sichuan andHunan work in Guangdong, known as China's "factory of the world." The system will take effect during the Spring Festival traffic peakseason, from Jan. 30 to March 30. The Spring Festival, or China'sLunar New Year, falls on Feb. 14 this year. China's Spring Festival transport is seen as the world's largestannual human migration as tens of millions of migrant workersreturn home, often their only chances for family gatherings. The National Development and Reform Commission forecast some 210million train trips over the holiday period, a rise of 9.5 percentfrom a year earlier. China's transport authorities have long been fighting againstscalpers, who were blamed for worsening the ticket shortage problemby stockpiling tickets and reselling them at higher prices. "I've been working in Guangzhou for years. During each SpringFestival, I had to pay scalplers almost double the price for aticket back home," said a migrant worker from Hunan. "And the risk of buying fake tickets was always there," he said. Shi Yanhai, a migrant worker from Sichuan, said she hadn't beenback home for five years because it was too hard to buy a trainticket during the traffic peak. "Hopefully I'll be able to buy a ticket this year after thereal-name system takes effect," she said. Nearly 80 percent respondents believed that the new system wouldhelp stop ticket scalping and make tickets purchasing easier duringthe holiday, according to an online survey by sohu.com, one ofChina's major internet portals. Although welcomed by the majority, the new ticket selling system isfaced with challenges. Some said the new rule might make traintravel more complicated. "I now only need to tell the ticket seller the date and destinationof my trip. But after the system is effective, I have to show my IDcard. That will make the queue longer!" said Zuo Xiaoyan, a migrantworker from Hunan, when queuing at Guangzhou railway station ticketlobby. Under the new rule, ticket check might take much longer time at therailway station. Unlike an airplane that can only carry hundreds ofpassengers, a train normally carries 2,000 passengers and it willtake long time to get all passengers aboard. Possible delays at the train station might cause security problems,said a railway ministry official at a press conference late lastyear. Fake identity cards or documents will be another problem. According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Railways,besides ID cards, other identification documents such as diplomatcertificates, military IDs, and consulate certificates, are allapplicable when purchasing a ticket. As most of these certificates couldn't be checked online, somenetizens questioned if the ticket sales staff could tell thedifference between a real certificate and a fake one. "To improve the efficiency of ticket check, we have added another100 ticket entrances and 3,000 ticket check staff at the trainstation," said Huang Xin, director of passenger service departmentof Guangzhou Railway Group said. The Guangzhou Railway Group also started to use a new IDrecognition system, including an ID card reader, a camera and aprinter, to shorten the ID verification time. "The real-name system aims to crack down on scalpers," Huang said,"We're sorry for the inconveniences that might be caused by thetrial. But We badly need understanding and support frompassengers.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Embroidered Lace Fabric , Eyelash Lace Trim, and more. For more , please visit Metallic Lace Fabric today!
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