The Ministry of Railways has urged administrations around the country to expand phone ticket booking services to help ease the difficulties faced by millions of passengers looking to return home during the Spring Festival holiday.

Beijing News reported Tuesday that the ministry asked administrations in Beijing and Guangdong, which already have the service, to offer more hotlines and simplify booking procedures.

However, Li Jun, an official with the ministry, told the Global Times Tuesday that the ministry still needs to assess whether it is worth investing in the service.

"Local administrations can submit applications to open the service to us. We will consider local residents' ticket booking habits, whether the administration has given its staff proper training and if it has technology advanced enough to offer the service," Li said.

The Spring Festival falls on February 3, 2011, and the railway transport peak is expected to begin on January 19. The Spring Festival transport rush usually lasts for 40 days.

Last year, the ministry launched a real name ticket purchasing system in 37 railway stations to combat ticket scalpers. In August, the ministry revealed that substantial preparations had been made for an online ticket booking system, but so far no information has been released.

"I am unimpressed with either phone or online booking services, as my previous experience tells me that in most cases no one answers the phone," Yang Ningyue, a resident of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, told the Global Times Tuesday.

"Even if there is someone answering the phone, it is very probable they don't have the ticket you need," Yang said.

Li said the ministry has no statistics on how many railway administrations have offered phone ticket booking services.