China's railway police have swooped on 185 illegal train ticket
dealers on the newly-operated Qinghai-Tibet Railway, announced the
Ministry of Railways on Tuesday.
The people arrested were involved in 110 ticket brokering
incidents, involving 812 tickets worth more than 470,000 yuan
(about US$58,750), said Wei Yuzeng, an official in charge of public
security with the ministry.
Wei said that local railway policemen in Beijing, Chengdu,
Lanzhou and Qinghai had cracked down on 14 ticket brokering
gangs.
"As far as we can tell, since August no passengers have bought
tickets for Lhasa at inflated prices," Wei said.
Li Zhigang, another police official with the ministry, said that
ticket brokers added up to 200 yuan (US$25) to each train ticket
from Lhasa.
Other sources said the price of a ticket to Lhasa could be
raised by as much as a hefty 800 yuan (US$100). The normal price of
a hard seat ticket from Xining to Lhasa is 226 yuan while hard
sleepers and soft sleepers are 523 yuan and 810 yuan
respectively.
Qiao Xin, an official with Beijing Railway Bureau said that
passengers can buy no more than three tickets for Lhasa at one
time.
"People buying group tickets from the counter will be
investigated by the police regarding the use of the tickets," Qiao
said.
China's railway police started a one-month campaign against
illegal train ticket deals on the Qinghai-Tibet railway in July,
after the new railway led to a surge in the number of tourists
going to Lhasa.
Local statistics show that Tibet now receives 5,000 tourists
every day, and about 1,700 take the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The railway opened trial service on July 1. Trains connect
Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xining and Lhasa.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)