A political advisor has urged the Ministry of Railways to abandon the practice of raising train ticket prices during the Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar new year.

In a proposal submitted to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top advisory, Wang Xiang said that the price hike is not conducive to the people-centered development philosophy, which has been frequently stresses by top Chinese leaders.

During the Spring Festival, the government and railway departments should provide more, better service for students and migrant workers, Wang said. However, the rise of train and bus ticket prices -- reaching more than 20 percent -- brought about extra economic burdens on them, the CPPCC National Committee member said.

According to Wang, the price rise failed to attain the original objective of the Ministry of Railways to stop the people from returning home in transport peak days. But Vice-minister Wang Zhaocheng of Railways argued that the move "apparently" helped alleviate railway transport pressure during the festival. "We have detailed figures to show this," he told the press.

China has to cope with huge flows of passengers during the Spring Festival, incurring constant traffic accidents -- a headache for transport departments.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2005)