Society

Rail passengers must show ID

By Zheng Caixiong and Mo Xuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-29 07:32

Rail passengers must show ID
A police officer checks the ID cards of passengers at the East Railway Station in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Tuesday. [China Daily/Ding Yong]

GUANGZHOU: The Guangzhou Railway Group Corporation yesterday denied a report that a new Spring Festival travel plan, which requires passengers to produce their identity cards before boarding trains, has been scrapped.

"Higher authorities have not informed us to do that," He Zhiwen, a senior press executive with the corporation, told China Daily.

An executive at the city's railway station also denied the local media report, which said that the plan had been scrapped to ensure social order during Spring Festival.

On Saturday, when the 40-day travel rush begins, all passengers will have to register their names when they buy a ticket and produce a valid ID card to prove their identity before boarding trains.

The recently announced plan aims to crack down on scalpers who buy numerous train tickets and then sell them to travelers at a higher price.

An official, surnamed Wang, from the Yuexiu district government, said the railway station should introduce concrete and effective measures to "quickly clear the crowd of travelers" that is bound to gather at the station in the coming days.

"Some media misunderstood our suggestions," Wang said.

"The plan was introduced by the Ministry of Railway, and the district government does not have the authority to ignore or scrap it unless directed."

Guangzhou railway station, one of the three busiest railway hubs in the country, is expecting the maximum number of travelers between Feb 5 and Feb 10.

More than 2.54 million passengers are expected to leave Guangzhou to spend the lunar New Year with their families, according to statistics from the railway station. The lunar New Year begins on Feb 14.

Gan Xin, vice mayor of the city, has urged relevant departments to cooperate with railway authorities to ensure the season runs smoothly.

"Concrete and effective measures must be taken to ensure all passengers leave Guangzhou for their hometowns safely and smoothly," said Gan, who is also Guangzhou's commander-in-chief of passenger transport for the festival.