Under the system, introduced during the Sars outbreak two years ago, the authorities will isolate infected patients and trace relatives or friends who have been in close touch with those infected.

Mr Han said ventilation in stations and trains had been improved and major stations were equipped with air conditioning and mobile disinfection equipment.

Every train will have to pass disinfection checks and receive a health certificate before it can go into operation.

The ministry has deployed 4,000 employees to patrol stations and trains. The railway health department will report infection numbers each week to the ministry.

The ministry estimates 145 million people - 3.5 per cent more than last year - will take a train between now and March 5.

The ministry on Monday revealed that 258 bacterial meningitis cases, 16 of them fatal, were reported last month across the nation - 43 more than in December and 94 more than in January last year.

Cases of the disease were reported everywhere except Tibet and the southern provinces of Fujian and Hainan .

In Jiangsu - the eastern province next to the worst-affected province of Anhui , authorities said there had been 15 meningitis cases in four cities last month.

Neighbouring Shanghai has yet to report any cases of meningitis. A spokesman for the city's public health bureau said staff were monitoring the outbreak.

The city's estimated 4 million migrant workers include large numbers of people from both Anhui and Jiangsu, though many are heading home for the new year.

Guangzhou Railway Station is checking passengers' temperatures. Anyone with a temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius will be sent to hospital.

'We have the people and equipment to screen for the disease. It's the same as for Sars,' a spokesman said.