Over 600 held in China for selling train tickets illegally
By IANSMonday, January 24, 2011
BEIJING - A total of 618 people have been detained by China’s railway police for illegally selling train tickets over the internet, the ministry of railways said Monday.
The 618 accused were involved in 565 cases. Around 160 were detained by the Beijing railway police, Xinhua reported.
Websites were urged to post slogans, such as “Ticket scalping is forbidden” and “Avoid being cheated” in conspicuous positions.
On Wednesday, the first day of this year’s 40-day Spring Festival, railway police detained 330 people for illegally selling tickets.
Some 700 million people are expected to travel within the country during the 40-day period. Around 230 million passenger trips will be taken by train.
China’s railway system is still far from meeting the social demand, despite more than 13,000 high-speed and ordinary trains being added to the national network in 2010, said Wang Zhiguo, vice minister of railways.
