China Railway Corporation, the operator of the country’s high speed rail, has denied previous media reports about restrictions for smoking ban violators onboard the high speed trains.

According to previous media reports, passengers who are found and punished by police for smoking on trains will be banned for life from buying CRH tickets unless they sign a pledge to never smoke again on the train. A second infraction after signing the pledge is grounds for a lifetime ban.

But an official with the China Railway Corp. told the Legal Daily that although smoking is strictly forbidden on CRH trains, the company has not released such rules.

On Sept. 22, the smoke detector in Carriage 9 of train D353 from Shanghai to Chongqing began to sound, prompting the driver to stop the train. Police officers and mechanics performed an inspection and found a man smoking in the toilet.

The man, surnamed Li, said he could not control his cravings, so he hid in the toilet to light a cigarette, which triggered the detector. In accordance with railway safety rules, Li was given a fine.

The police later reminded passengers that cigarette smoking is banned on CRH trains as an important safety precaution.