Hard to Get a Train Ticket

As the spring festival is coming , the hot topic for ordinary people is hard to get a train ticket. Now, whether I read newspaper or watch TV, of surf the internet, I get the same news---buying train tickets. It is the spring festival transport peak period, so there so many people gather at railway station to get a ticket. You cannot imagin how horrible if you didn't experience.

Last Saturday, one of my friend asked me to buy ticket for her, for I am close to the ticket booking agent. After supper, I arrived at the agent office. I thought I would queue in front. Tomy surprise, there already more than 30 people queued in line. It is was awful that I had to stand in the freezing wind for a whole night because the agent began to sell tickets at 6:30 am. However, what's worse was that tickets sold out in several minutes because there were many many agents in different places. Therefore, a whole night effort was in vail.

Then why the tickets were sold out so quickly?

The Real Secret
Ticket scalpers, we offen call them "yellow cow" is a person who takes the time either to line up to buy the ticket and resell it at higher price, or buy back tickets from ticket owner at lower price and sell it at higher price. They charge 50 to 100 RMB more for each ticket as service fee.
But for the railway tickets, it seems that they even didn't bother to line up in the ticket window. The amount of the ticket they have seems not to be bought at "retail" window. Reports say many of them have been directly or indirectly affiliated with the "insider" of the railway ticket system.

The Result
In fact, no matter how terrible the ticket availability seems to be, there are many seats on the train. Well. Spring Festival is the time most people will go back home. It is for sure that tickets are hard to get. On one hand, all tickets were sold out, and many people cannot go home. On the other hand, trains are empty!

Responsiblity
Who are responsible for hard to get a train ticket? The bad system.
Well. Spring Festival is the time most people will go back home. It is for sure that tickets are hard to get. On one hand, all tickets were sold out, and many people cannot go home. On the other hand, trains ARE EMPTY! Who gets the benefit? Thousands of "yellow cows" who gets 50 RMB each ticket (1/6 of the ticket price). It is for sure that they need to share the revenue to those in the railway system who control the source of the ticket. But who cares.
When we are back, we past by the ticket window. There are still thousands of people lining up to get a ticket. I am sure many of them will find their effort to stand in cold for hours in Vail. No ticket at all! There is no tickets! It is not because there are too many people there, and too few seat, it is just because of the corruption of the railway system. I realize the current problem of railway system is no longer the problem we faced 10 years ago, when I can still find a standing place on the crowded train.