The Lujiazui Station on Shanghai's Metro Line 2 is expected to replace most of its manual ticket selling booths with machines by the end of October, The Shanghai Morning Post reported.

A new customer service center will be installed, however, to help passengers with questions.

Twelve new ticket machines will be added to the current eight ones at the busiest station on Line 2 but Metro operators will keep some ticket booths open during peak hours.

The machines are expected to go into service by the end of next month after some trials, the report said, making the Lujiazui Station the sixth station on Metro Line 2 to get rid of human ticket vendors.

Lujiazui Station is the busiest station on Line 2 with a daily traffic flow of more than 150,000 people.

Currently, the Shiji Avenue Station and the four stops on the western extension of Metro Line 2 have no human ticket sellers.

Shanghai aims to gradually eliminate all the ticket booths in more than 300 stations along 11 lines in the city by 2010 to cut costs, according to Bi Xiangli, deputy general manager of Shanghai Shentong Rail Transit Research and Consultancy Company, which plans subway construction.