Yang Gongzhen (opinion.china.com.cn): The current system of standing ticket sales is pretty odd. The official response is that, if these fares are made cheaper, trains will become overloaded. It's a ridiculous argument. The railway department knows exactly how many standing tickets it can sell to avoid danger.

The Ministry of Railways is a government body with a duty to serve the public. The Railway Passenger Transportation Regulations explicitly regulates the pricing of hard seat and berth tickets, but contain no rules related to standing rates.

It is widely believed that halving standing rates is reasonable to match both price and service. On the other hand, some worry it might attract more passengers, which could disrupt operations. Perhaps such concerns are baseless. However you price it, trains can only transport a set amount of people at one time.

It's not the first time that the issue has come to the fore. In 2007, due to the summer holiday travel peak, bullet trains from Beijing to Tianjin and Shijiazhuang began selling standing tickets at the same rate for seats.

Is the problem really so difficult to solve? Maybe we can have a look at how other countries deal with the situation. In Britain, instead of paying for standing tickets, passengers can choose to travel at any time either sitting or on their feet. Of course, this system is built on the basis of full transport capacity, which is different from Spring Festival travel in China that incorporates the largest-scale human migration in the world. Calls for reduced fares are increasing, showing public awareness on the fairness of travel. The railway authorities should give a clear response to such calls.

Deng Haijian (Xi'an Evening News): With the approach of the Spring Festival, calls resound for the slashing of travel rates. Every year, the country's railway services sell a large number of standing tickets at full price. It's clear that fares and service quality don't correlate.

Standing tickets have been around for ages, but this doesn't mean they are fair. From either a market economy or consumer rights perspective, charging those who stand the same as those who are seated is bizarre.

Anyone who has traveled at peak times understands the terrible ordeal of movement and trying to get out of someone's way, particularly during long journeys. Dropping prices could offer some measure of comfort. However, there are currently no fixed regulations that deal with fixing prices and services.

The limited amount of standing tickets can by no means justify high prices. Railway authorities have the social responsibility to fulfill transport demands and make travel as affordable as possible.

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