China, which has the largest number of blind people in the world, will allow visually impaired passengers to take their guide dogs onto trains from May 1.
According to new rules, blind passengers can tell train stations their needs to ride with guide dogs when buying tickets, or calling the railway customer service center 12 hours before train departure.
Passengers can also seek help from staff at stations if they fail to contact the service center in advance, state-run Xinhua news agency reported last night.
China Railway Corporation made the rules after joint studies with the China Disabled Persons' Federation in an effort to improve barrier-free services to the disabled.
When entering a railway station, visually impaired passengers should show their identity cards, disability certificates, as well as certificates for service dogs and for animal health and immunity.
Last year, Beijing approved a regulation that allows visually impaired passengers to take their guide dogs onto subway from May 1.
China accounts for about 18 per cent of the world's blind. The country is estimated to have the largest number of blind people in the world - around 5 million. By definition, these people cannot walk about unaided, according to figures from the World Health Organisation.
Rail transport is an important mode of long-distance travel in China. As of 2014, the country had some 112,000 km of railways, the third longest network in the world.
