Current train ticket purchasing situations

[somethingfunny]

Haha!  I hadn't noticed that.  That's an upvote for Imron's classic pun and an upvote for Xiao Kui for pointing it out!

[Shelley]

This was in last evening's Wechat CCTV news selection.

 

http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/12/10/china-railway-set-impossible-tests-for-ticket-buyers

 

I found the "spoof" ones quite funny.

 

 

[Angelina]

You might find this useful

[peterlkj]

Back to the original topic of the thread - anyone got good advice on actually getting the tickets?

Last time I checked the automated pick-up kiosks didn't work for foreigners, any change to that? I saw a few fellow passengers today using apps instead of paper tickets - any chance this is an option? Right now ctrip is the only platform I've found that at least allows me to book (wechat and qunar flip out when you don't have a Chinese ID) but then standing in line for 30 mins to get the ticket somewhat defeats the point.

Additional minor rant - what's with the station security suddenly? I was at Hangzhou East today and they were doing the explosive detection two passengers at at time - spent another 30 mins after getting the ticket to actually get in the station. It's going to be madness over CNY if they keep it up.

[889]

There's a no-ticket option now on some HSR lines, with passengers swiping their ID cards at the gate instead of tickets. But this won't work for foreigners, who don't have Chinese ID cards.

 

http://piao.gaotie.cn/huochepiao/2015-07-14/255484.html

 

Likewise, the ticket pick-up machines work only with Chinese ID cards, not passports.

 

As a foreigner, you should be able to book on www.12306.cn and avoid ctrip's commissions, if you have a Chinese bank card.

 

And yes, train station security has been tightening and is almost at airport standard.

 

Finally, you buy online beforehand to be sure you have a seat. Otherwise, you can wait in line 30 minutes only to hear 没票！

[Angelina]

#offtopic haha the G20 Summit is in September, security is going to get more and more tight, especially in Hangzhou.

Try the 非二代身份证 area. You can use a passport to get online purchased tickets there.

[somethingfunny]

I've been using the 12306 app and paying with alipay.  No problems so far, all pretty smooth.  If you're booking at a busy time for a few people, make sure you input their details into the 12306 app beforehand to save time.

 

I wouldn't say train station security is at the level of airport security yet.  Sure, it takes about as much time, but the person on the computer rarely ever seems that interested in whats in peoples bags.  The worst one is when you enter a subway station after having got off a train.  Why can't they work out that everyone who just got off the train would have had to go through security already to get on the train?  A couple of times I've been directed through the bag scanner at a station and despite pointing out that the person on the computer is asleep, or not even there, I've still been made to scan my bag.

 

Anyway, I recommend arriving well in advance at the station, even if you already have your ticket.

[ChTTay]

@peterlkj, With regarding to collecting tickets, just go to any train ticket window (the ones dotted throughout most cities) and pay the surcharge. Beats doing at the station and potentially waiting in line for ages.

[stapler]

Last time I checked the automated pick-up kiosks didn't work for foreigners, any change to that? I saw a few fellow passengers today using apps instead of paper tickets - any chance this is an option? Right now ctrip is the only platform I've found that at least allows me to book (wechat and qunar flip out when you don't have a Chinese ID) but then standing in line for 30 mins to get the ticket somewhat defeats the point.

 

As far as I know it's still not possible for foreigners to use the kiosks (always annoys me that travel in Asia is so much more difficult for foreigners than it is for foreigners in Western countries!!) However there is often a desk called "VIP" or "Special" or something like that can do foreigner tickets and has a pretty short/no line - at least at some train stations. Look for it at the far ends of the normal lines/counters.

 

I'm trying to book some train tickets from outside China but can't get to the website. Gunna have to use to a VPN to book some. So annoying that they block it to foreign traffic -_-

 

Also, all the 小三通 bookings in Taiwan have collapsed under the Chinese New Year pressure. Sigh. For some reason they only open for 2 hours, on 4 different dates. Why? Looks like I might be stuck on the other side of the straits. So maybe it's for the best that I can't even book the train tickets for the mainland yet -_-

[889]

They only started blocking access outside the Mainland in November, and the blocking has been sporadic, so you might get through at times without a VPN.

 

If you have an old 12306 account, note that they now seem to want you to re-verify your linked phone number, and this can be a problem if you're in Taiwan, say, and your Mainland SIM isn't registered for roaming outside the Mainland.

[igacave]

Guys, do you know anything about bus in China?

I am trying to make it form Hankou to Nanjing around 15th of February, but there is no ticket left...

I kinda started to panic.

[somethingfunny]

I'm planning on taking a train from Beijing to Guangzhou on the 16th of February.  Specifically, one of the overnight 动车's.  However, when I check online, these trains are not running on the 16th, 17th or 18th.  Does anyone know any possible reason for this?  I've searched for the train number (d901) on the 12306 website but it doesn't bring up any news about the train not running that day.

[somethingfunny]

Looks like those trains only run Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

 

For the love of...

[Angelina]

http://shanghaiist.com/2016/02/02/guangzhou_station_100000_stranded.php

Is that you somethingfunny? (find Waldo photo)