Officials yet to release timetable for new program

BEIJING - The real-name train ticket system implemented during Spring Festival is likely to be expanded across the country, a top railway official said.

Liu Zhijun, Minister of Railways, said the ticketing system designed to curb scalping was still on trial until March 10 and a timetable for its full implementation was not yet available.

The system was helpful in easing ticket shortages during the travel peak season before Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, but failed to eliminate scalpers.

"We hope to conduct summarization and evaluation when the current experiment closes at the end of the Spring Festival travel period, but we have decided to keep heading toward the goal of a full nationwide real-name ticketing system," Liu told the Yangtze Evening News, on the sidelines of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Theexperiment of name-based ticketing system was carried out at 37 stations managed by Chengdu Railway Bureau and Guangzhou Railway Group during the Spring Festival travel period between Jan 30 and March 10.

Under the system, travelers had to use their ID card to book tickets. Inspectors at the station scanned the ticket and his or her ID card. The names and codes on the ticket and ID card are required to match.

Liu said the ministry had received a lot of feedback and a special team from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is assessing the system's effectiveness.

"We have heard praise and criticism, and both in the extremes. It is normal. It shows people have concerns and expectations about the railway system. We'll take all of the suggestions into consideration," Liu said.

Lu Qin, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and a businesswoman, proposed the real-name ticketing system during last year's NPC-CPPCC sessions.

A graduate student surnamed Tang at Beijing Normal University said she found the name-based system to be efficient when she took a train to Beijing on Feb 26, but that there were not enough tickets available for sale.

She said she used the telephone booking system to book the ticket 10 days ahead of her scheduled traveling day, which is the earliest time tickets can be purchased.

"I ended up with a standing ticket. So I brought a small stool with me and sat in the aisle for more than 10 hours," Tang said.

(China Daily 03/08/2010 page3)