Shanghai Railway on Tuesday started a program offering special sleeping berth services to female passengers on two through trains between Shanghai and Beijing. It is believed the move will be conducive to ensuring a more comfortable and potentially safer journey for female travelers, Beijing Times reported yesterday.

 

Two special soft-sleeper compartments, each with four berths, will be provided on each of the services, namely Z6 and Z22, respectively, between Shanghai and Beijing.

 

Prices will not be raised for the special service.

 

Even if only one ticket is sold per trip, male passengers will not be allowed to purchase the remaining tickets. But if no tickets are sold up to one day before the train's departure, all berths will probably be released to male passengers.

 

If more single female passengers need special berths, additional ones could be arranged.

 

Shanghai is not the first to offer such a service. Xuzhou City in east China's Jiangsu Province started its services in December last year.

 

The Z6 and Z22 services depart from Shanghai daily at around 7 PM and arrive in Beijing the following morning.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2006)