BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China will provide discounts on train fares of multiple inter-city railways nationwide to meet the needs of short-distance travel for work or spring outings, said China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CSR) Monday.

The preferential measure covers over 200 trains on 25 inter-city railways, with a maximum discount of 45 percent starting from Wednesday, and the tickets will go on sale from Tuesday on official online platform 12306 and at train stations, the CSR said.

On the premise of effective epidemic containment, the country's railway department will adopt a more flexible and market demand-oriented pricing and discounting approach, while optimizing service quality and safety of the trains, according to the CSR.