China is strengthening its crackdown on train ticket scalpers prior to the 40-day spring travel rush that begins on January 8, during which tens of millions of migrant workers and college students rush home for family reunions.

China's railway system will carry out an online ticket-booking system and a real-name ticket purchasing system, which requires passengers to provide their ID numbers when buying tickets during the peak travel season, said a statement jointly released by Ministry of Railways (MOR) and the Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday.

During the traditional Chinese Spring Festival, the most important holiday for Chinese family gatherings, China's railways are expected to see a record 235 million passengers making trips across the country, according to the MOR.

The supply of railway tickets during the spring travel peak often fails to meet demand, and scalpers take advantage of this by hoarding tickets through various means and reselling them at much higher prices.

The statement said that police have arrested 828 scalpers and busted 147 sites where tickets were scalped since the ministries jointly launched a crackdown earlier this month.

Additionally, police have uncovered 710 ticket-scalping cases and confiscated 5,194 train tickets during the crackdown, according to the statement.

(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2011)