In fact, we’re just about a year past that dark era in time where the sole means of getting your long-lusted train ticket was either in those hated queues at train stations, at a few (rare! they were… back then) ticket machines, or at those “hole-in-the-wall” ticket agents.
How times have changed. Your ticket is now yours in more ways than one. You can get your ticket:
- train ticket offices (queues)
- automatic ticket machines (at all high speed rail stations; PRC 2nd-generation ID card required)
- authorized train ticket offices
- by telephone (voice-guided ticketing system)
- online (at 12306.cn)
- on your own 2nd-generation PRC ID card (futuristic, eh?)
- on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad (special software needed)
(The rest of this page will be expanded shortly.)
We will go into these step by step…
FOR ALL TRIPS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING AVAILABLE:
- Date and time of departure (日期, 时间)
- Train number (车次)
- Departure and arrival (exit) stations (发站, 到站)
- Class of travel (席别)
- Optionally: your seat number (席位)
- Your passport for HSR trains (动车组实名制 – 护照)
You will also need to be present locally to buy tickets for Hainan trains, as well as CRH D trains running between Guangzhou and Shenzhen or Zhuhai North (or Xinhui). Tickets for any destination inside the Chinese mainland can, however, be bought at many networked stations: ask for 联网车票 (lian wang che piao; networked ticket sales) or 异地车票 (yi di che piao; non-local ticket sales).
AT TRAIN TICKET OFFICES (QUEUES)
Available: Ticket purchases for nationwide tickets (even those not departing from the station you’re at, especially HSR tickets); ticket changes or refunds
The classic way of getting your ticket — and the way most migrant workers do it — is to wait in line (or maybe not, as it might seem!) at a train ticket counter. You, of course, being the expat, want to get it done quickly, so make sure you have all info (see above) ready in Chinese and English.
Foreigners: The following ticket counters have services in English and/or specially for non-Chinese riders:
- Beijing Railway Station: Ticket Counter 16
- Shanghai Railway Station: At ticket office near South Square
- Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station: Look for “English spoken” ticketing window
- Hangzhou Railway Station: High speed railway tickets sold at Ticket Counter 3 (outside the ticket hall full of ticket machines)
AT AUTOMATIC TICKET MACHINES
Ticket vending machines, present at nearly all high speed railway stations in China, dispense tickets for especially high speed trains — provided, once again, that you are a PRC citizen with a 2nd generation ID card. (Some machines in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, however, can additionally accept mainland entry cards for Hong Kong and Macao residents.)
Provided you’ve your cards right, ticket sales are simple. Just push the top right hand corner button to choose your station of departure, and take it from there — choosing your destination, time of departure, and class of travel in turn.
Just before you confirm your purchase, you will need to scan your ID card over the reader. Provided that’s done, you pay (in cash, or at an increasing number of machines, by credit or debit card). Finally, the tickets (and any change) will come out — from the machine!
On some of these machines, you’ll also be able to retrieve your online tickets from your Chinese ID card. These will be needed if you travel on high speed or regular rail routes that do not have automated ticket gates.
AT TRAIN TICKET POINTS OF SALES
Known colloquially in English as the mere “hole-in-the-wall”, these authorized ticket offices are your best hope of getting tickets if you’re travelling by train, provided you are a Chinese citizen with a 2nd generation ID card. (However, these offices around Shanghai will sell tickets to foreigners.)
The advantage of these are that those are often less packed (although it’s not rare to see a small queue during busier hours, especially around peak travel seasons around Chinese New Year). The main disadvantage is that, unless you book early, you risk not getting a ticket, as the railway ticket allocation system gives only so many tickets to a particular booking point. Alas, you are also not able to get some high-end seats: it is known that Deluxe Class seats on the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity trains (C trains) are not available through these channels at all.
You will always be charged CNY 5 for a ticket — all ticketing here comes with an obligatory surcharge.