Guangzhou Railway Group pledged Sunday that passengers charged extra money for train tickets at its box offices, or through chartered agents in Guangdong, will get a double refund.

The railway group also posted a reward for those who report unlicensed agents or scalpers without giving the sum of the reward, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

Earlier Chinese reports have exposed unlicensed ticket agents that charged 20 yuan (US$2.5) to several hundred yuan as service fees for each train ticket they sold. Normally, the railway company only allows an extra five-yuan surcharge for each ticket.

The Guangzhou railway police also encouraged passengers to report any overcharging, whether they bought tickets from licensed or illegal agents. The police promised to return the overcharged money to victims once their complaints are confirmed.

The railway police has opened six hotlines to receive complaints: (020) 6132-3888, 6132-3988, 6135-0018 in Guangzhou; (0755) 2558-9506 in Shenzhen; (0752) 582-2288 in Huizhou; and (0758) 283-6004 in Zhaoqing. The police assured that complaints would reach their headquarters in Guangzhou because every single telephone conversation is recorded.

Guangdong Province, a powerhouse of China's economic growth in the past two decades, has seen a large number of migrant passengers during the Spring Festival peak each year.

More than 120,000 passengers left Guangzhou by train on Sunday and 130,000 more were expected to ride homeward-bound trains from Guangzhou Railway Station yesterday.

Editor: Yan