BEIJING, Dec. 10 -- Chinese railway police on Tuesday started a crackdown on illegal scalping of train tickets.

The police will strengthen patrols at train stations and ticket offices and will pay special attention to suspicious repeat buyers and group ticket purchasers, according to a railway police authority statement.

The police will investigate illegal tickets sold online and will form a blacklist of dubious websites, sellers, phone numbers and bank accounts, the statement said.

The crackdown will last for 80 days until the end of February, covering the Spring Festival period, a traditional Chinese holiday for family reunions.

Due to large-scale migration ahead of the festival, people working far from their hometown scramble for a ticket home to be with their families.