BEIJING-- China's Ministry of Railways said Thursday that it will cut the fees for ticket refunds in an effort to improve its service quality.

Under the new rule, the fee for refunding a ticket is reduced from 20 percent of the ticket's face value to 5 percent starting September 25. The lowest fee is set at 2 yuan (31 US cents), the ministry said in an online statement.

Bullet train tickets will all start to be sold online by the end of September, the statement said.

To promote booking services, the ministry also will make 12306 as its hotline number nationwide, the statement added.

Difficulty in purchasing tickets has been a major source of complaints against the ministry in recent years as demand for train tickets is always high in the country, especially during festivals.