Spring Festival, the busiest time of the year for China's railways, is approaching. Hundreds of millions of people will travel home for the holiday, making it the largest mass human migration in the world. Rail tickets for the travel period are now on sale and the requirement for people to provide their real names to purchase tickets is being expanded. The Wuhan to Guangzhou High Speed Railway is now covered by this policy for the first time.

Wuhan and Guangzhou are two busiest transportation hubs in central and southern China. They are not only hot travel destinations, but also important transfer stations as people head to different parts of the country.

Guo Jinfu, Publicity Dept. of Wuhan Railway Bureau, said, "From January 19th until further notice, all train tickets on the Wuhan-Guangzhou High Speed Railway will be sold under a real name sales system for the first time. The trial run covers 30 stations along the rail line administered by railway authorities of the two cities. In previous years, the policy was proved effective in regulating rail travel and fight against ticket scalping."

Passengers are now required to carry one of the valid IDs approved by railway authorities when they purchase tickets at stations or through ticket agents. Phone bookings are also accepted, but the ticket can only be picked up by the person who will use it. To cope with the massive passenger flow during the Spring Festival, Wuhan railway authorities have also added 85 pairs of high speed trains each day to the schedule. At the same time, passengers will be able to take a bullet train from Wuhan to Shanghai every hour, almost the same frequency as buses on the route.

Guo Jinfu said, "Last year during this period, an average of 53-thousand people travelled on the Wuhan-Guangzhou High Speed Rail Line every day. We are expecting an even greater number this year because more routes have been opened."

Trains are the most popular travel option in China, and every year they bear a huge burden from the massive flow of travelers. Railway authorities have been striving to make this transportation system more orderly during this period by applying measures like real name registration. The policy might still need adjustments and improvements during the trial run, but as long as it can help the right people get on with their journey home, it's worth the effort.