打击黄牛 中国火车票实名制

Since the real-name system has been launched, a number of passengers have been complaining about the instability of the ministry's newly-launched online ticketing system, which has at times failed to issue tickets that were already paid for.

The online system had a 30-minute limit for payment processing, with tickets returned to the purchasing pool after the limit is exceeded.

The ministry says the time limit has been extended now, adding that customers who have not received the tickets they purchased will have the cost of the tickets credited to their bank accounts within 15 days.

However, this online purchasing problem is just one of many troubles that people are having these days. Many people have been unable to buy train tickets because they had no valid ID card. All Chinese citizens should have a national ID card, but the older "first generation" cards aren't always accepted.

In Beijing, Mr. Gao tried buying a ticket at the station, but he was asked to provide a valid second generation ID card rather than his out-of-date first generation card. However, when he tried to apply for temporary ID at the train station, he was told that his information couldn't be checked with the out-of-date ID card.

"I thought the information of ID card could be confirmed no matter it's a valid card or an out-of-date card. Many people could find themselves in the situation where their previous ID card is out-of-date, but they have not yet applied for the new one. That's why people without valid ID cards need to apply for temporary ID at the train station. I hope the ticketing system can be improved."

People who can not get temporary ID at train stations include those who never got an ID card, whose ID cards are out-of-date, or who fail to remember their valid ID card number.

Kong Xiangyi, head of the Beijing Railway Station explains:

"Passengers who are applying for temporary ID at the station are required to provide their personal information such as their name, address, nationality and so on. And we will check their information in our system, if the information they provide are the same with what we have in the system, we'll give them a temporary ID card. However, this temporary ID is only valid for one day. That is to say, you need to buy ticket and take the train on the day you apply for the temporary ID card."

Under the real-name system, a valid ID card permits the purchase of one ticket per route on any date, but a maximum of five tickets can be purchased if the buyer possesses the valid ID cards of five individuals, according to a new rule issued by the Beijing Railway Bureau.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.