A cellphone application that will allow users to buy railway tickets is expected to be available to download for free by the end of November, the Nanning Evening News reported on Monday.

The application, which is being developed by the Ministry of Railways, will offer customers a more convenient way to buy and pay for train tickets online using their smartphones.

The ministry had said earlier that the application would be ready by the end of September.

The local railway authority in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said technicians are still working on improving the system, and customers may be able to use the service next month, according to the report.

The authority said that the new application will be available for both the Android and Apple Inc's ISO operating systems.