Shanghai on Friday upgraded the security level at its two main railway stations, requiring passengers to X-ray their luggage when entering ticket offices.

Previously, passengers only needed to have their luggage X-rayed before boarding trains at the Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai South Railway Station.

A Shanghai Railway Bureau spokesman said the move was "quite necessary" as it could prevent dangerous goods from being brought into stations.

The Ministry of Railways had ordered all major stations to install security check machines to ensure passenger safety.

The Shanghai move came one day after Beijing police began to take sniffer dogs onto trains to check baggage at two of the capital's rail terminals.

The dogs, trained to detect explosives and other suspicious substances, would also be taken regularly through luggage warehouses, platforms and outdoor spaces of the Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station.

Other measures, including portable and fixed detectors and detecting doors, have been put into use in the two terminals.

The dogs have been patrolling the capital's subways since January.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2008)