Workers carry out construction at the site of Hongmiao Station on Beijing Subway line 22 in Beijing, capital of China, Feb.

BEIJING--Two subway stations in Beijing introduced a trial reservation system March 6 to reduce congestion during the morning rush hour and avoid having passengers wait in long lines before boarding.

CNN was unable to reach the city’s subway operator for comment. Other cities’ subways have rolled out cost-cutting measures.

On Monday, 16.45 million passenger trips were recorded, a new high for daily rail traffic during the Spring Festival period. On Tuesday, that number was expected to reach 16.9 million, with 2,196 ...