Hu in rare order to avoid holiday travel chaos
President Hu Jintao has told rail officials to 'use their brains' in the face of a looming travel crunch, and to heed public grievances as hundreds of millions of mainlanders rush to get their hands on train tickets to return home for the Lunar New Year.
'The Ministry of Railways must use its brains to work out many measures to help the people,' Mr Hu said. 'They should make these measures known to the public in order to lessen social tension and ensure the Spring Festival mission is completed in a smooth manner.'
That rare order from a top mainland leader was seen by some as censure of the state rail monopoly, given the intense scrutiny of the ministry over its inefficiency and inability to handle crowds at many railway stations, particularly during last year's blizzard across much of central and southern China.
The ministry said 188 million people would use rail services during the 40-day Lunar New Year holiday period, an increase of 8 per cent from last year.
Frustrated travellers, who sometimes have to spend hours or days queuing at railway stations nationwide to buy tickets, have accused the ministry of failing to tackle rampant ticket touting and illicit backdoor sales by some rail employees. Public discontent and distrust of the ministry have been on the rise, and the public is suspicious of any abnormalities in sales.
