The interior of the bullet train running from Beijing to Shangahil

Zhao Jian, a transport professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, praised the decision to respond to market demands by removing luxury seats from many of the trains that will travel the new railway between Beijing and Shanghai.

"The luxury cars on many of the existing high-speed lines have low occupancy rates, which is a huge waste," he said.

Without luxury seats, the trains will transport more passengers, leading to higher revenues from ticket sales, he said.

The publicity department with the Ministry of Railways declined to comment on the news on Wednesday. For his part, the new railway minister, Sheng Guangzu, has shown resolve to make the high-speed railway service more "satisfactory to the people".

He said the high-speed railway between Beijing and Shanghai will operate at a slower maximum speed than first planned - at 300 kilometers an hour, giving passengers a safer and more affordable ride.

To further save money, passengers can also choose to ride in a train that has a maximum speed of 250 km/h.

The string of changes, even though they will make trains run slower, has been well received by travelers.

"Although the trains will run a little bit slower, flights can be severely delayed," said Ge Bozhi, a 42-year-old businessman from Shanghai.

"So I will definitely take the train as soon as it starts to run."

Others thought the railway department should do more.

Yang Jianjun, a 35-year-old consultant, said he hoped the trains can be improved in ways needed to attract those who usually travel by air. The food on some high-speed trains, for instance, could certainly be made better, he said.

"Travelers expect catering and services that match the reputation of the trains," he said.