Buying train ticket in Beijing, besides in Beijing zhan

[Pengyou]

Ever since they introduced the speedy D trains I have not been able to buy any other kind of ticket from Beijing to Tianjin than one of the D trains. Not only is this a bit expensive but it is also not very convenient. The d trains may be faster than other options but the west and north train stations are much closer to my home than the main station. The tickets to these 2 stations are also much cheaper - one as cheap as 16 rmb.

I had a similar problem when I lived in Shanghai. Every time I went to the ticket window in the main station they would only sell me the soft seat tickets. I got around this buy going to an off-site ticket office and bought the ticket that I wanted there.

I know that there is a ticket office near wu dao kou that will sell train tickets for a 5 rmb service charge - at least it used to be 5 rmb. Are there other places where I can buy train tickets? The idea location, of course, is not far from the train station or very close to subway station. Can tickets be bought online yet?

Note: Even if you know of a place that is not near the train station or near a subway/lightrail station please post it. This thread might become a handy reference to other people.

Thanks!

[gougou]

Can tickets be bought online yet?

When checking train times at huochepiao.com, there'll be a lot of advertisements with numbers you can call. They will send tickets to your door for a small fee (sometimes for free as well, but I'm not sure whether you can find that if all you're looking for is a 16 kuai ticket).

[Pengyou]

Thanks! That looks like a useful website. Door service for me is not an option since I live in Tianjin. A walk up window would be adequate.

[imron]

There are loads of them all over the place. I can think of three in Wudaokou off the top of my head (one by Diqiucun, another on Chengfu Lu, and another on the road that leads to Tsinghua). I see others around the city all the time. These places will charge a 5 yuan commission on all tickets sold, but it sure beats travelling to the main station everytime you need tickets.

[Pengyou]

Cool! Now we have the pump primed...let's keep the locations flowing! More! More!

[gougou]

Thinking about it, why don't you buy your ticket when you get to the station? Last time I went to Tianjin (weekday morning), I was able to get a ticket for about half an hour later.

[Pengyou]

Thanks! Buying a ticket right after I arrive would be a prudent thing to do. The issue, however, is not being able to buy a ticket or the timing of buying the ticket. The issue is that the ticket windows at Beijing zhan are not willing to sell me anything but the D che ticket, which:

1. Is more money than I want to pay

2. More importantly, does not put me in a very convenient place in Tianjin. I live very close to the west train station, which is a considerable distance to the main station. I usually return to Tianjin at night, often after midnight, and if I can go to the west - or even north - train station is is easier and cheaper to get home than from the main station, which is way out in the east now, while they are renovating the original main station. If I can be assured of getting a ticket to either of these 2 stations I can buy an older, junkier bike and ride it to the trian station here in TJ and park it in their bike storage, then ride it home when I return to Tianjin.

So, for safety, cost and convenience I am trying to find a way to buy the train ticket to one of these other locations in Tianjin - but they will not let me buy one jieguo, I want to find a place off the BJ zhan site that sells tickets to try my luck there.

[imron]

The issue is that the ticket windows at Beijing zhan are not willing to sell me anything but the D che ticket

Do they do this even if you provide them with the train number/time of a different train?

[Pengyou]

Yes, when buying a train ticket I always provide the train number, the departure time and the departure/arrival city's name just to make sure that what I say is clear.

I have tried to buy tickets on three different occasions but got the same results. Once I even tried three days ahead of the time when I needed the ticket but still could not. I am beginning to think this is another "big nose discount" for weiguoren.

[imron]

That's really bizarre. Perhaps just go for the door-to-door delivery. I'm sure they'd deliver to a hotel.

[roddy]

As for places to buy train tickets - isn't there one outside the cinema between BLCU and the Wudaokou station? That's probably one of the ones Imron is referring to. Much less local, but I can tell you the exact location, is just north of the cinema at Xiaoxitian, north of Jishuitan.

There's a list here, not sure how up to date / accurate it is.

[imron]

Nope, that would be a fourth one. The one on Chengfu Lu that I'm talking about is opposite Huaqingjiayuan. Like I said, these places are everywhere.

[roddy]

Just noticed you are looking for somewhere close to the station or a subway station, not Wudaokou. Looking at the list I linked to

华龙旅行社代售点 建国门内大街9号国际饭店2号楼

is in the International Hotel a block north of the station, very easy to find.

I'm assuming all those listed are linked up to the railway network so they can print tickets immediately.

But as Imron says, there are lots of these places - look for the railway logo and ask anywhere that looks like a travel agent.

[Pengyou]

Thanks! But I am seldom in Beijing over night. I will keep looking for the ticket vendors. Thanks!

[Pengyou]

Thanks! I will follow up on that list with a map! I love this forum

[bianfuxia]

A good place to buy tix is at the Aviation building at Xidan. It's right outside the Xidan subway station - take the exit for the Aviation Building or the giant bookshop. You can buy plane tix there too, though I never have.

I just recently got return hardsleeper tickets to Xi'an from there. It was easy, no queue, could buy more than 4 days in advance (I guess this is no big deal now but when I went last year I couldn't even buy the return ticket in BJ).

I think they might even speak English, although I did the transaction in my hopeless Chinese.