As the 2009 Spring Festival draws near, the busy travel season is soon to start.

Concerning issues about the tight supply of railway tickets, an article on the news portal Chinanewsnet cites the railway authorities as saying ticket prices will remain unchanged or even be lowered for some lines.

However, authorities issued a warning that the supply of railway tickets may still fall short.

The article argued it is far from enough for related authorities to simply issue a warning to tackle the problem. Rather mismanagement is a bigger problem.

The article says ticket scalpers are reportedly able to get whatever tickets they want, and in large quantities, via various means, sometimes directly from the ticket offices at major railway stations. Their bulk purchases aggravate the ticket shortage, and passengers have to stand in long queues for days and nights to get a ticket or have to pay double or triple the price for a ticket from the scalpers.

In conclusion, the article called on related departments to take concrete measures, especially to prevent scalpers from buying up all the tickets.