Ordos city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has launched a passenger self-service personal information registration system at its rail stations which it believes will help tackle the novel coronavirus outbreak, local officials said.

They said it will achieve precise control of epidemic prevention and control in railway stations, leading to quick egress by passengers and avoiding passengers and personnel mixing, according to local media reports on Feb 22.

The self-service system only requires passengers to scan a QR code before or during the ride, then complete the relevant information on a mini app through WeChat and generate a personal QR code.

On arrival at a station in Ordos, staff swipe the QR code of the passenger who can then exit quickly.

Officials said Ordos is the first of the autonomous region to start the code scanning exit system at railway stations.

They said its launch will enable important checkpoints of railway stations to accurately collect passenger information through WeChat code scanning.

It will also accurately analyze passenger behavior and actions by tracking them via big data and the public security network -- tracing them back to their community and facilitating subsequent epidemic prevention and control.

Officials said that at the same time, the use of the system makes it more convenient for the passengers to leave the station quickly.

It also effectively avoids the spread of the epidemic caused by groups of rail personnel and avoids the potential safety hazards caused by the congestion of passengers.

To date, 400 QR code pictures coordinated and produced by the municipal railway and civil aviation center have been distributed to all trains passing through Ordos.

Train stewards will remind passengers to scan the code and complete personal information registration in time through on-board announcements.