upgrading hardseat train ticket - how to go about doing it?

[yonitabonita]

Hi folks

After 2 hours of lining up at Beijing West station for my ticket to Chengdu, I got so keen to get out of there that I forgot to think. They had no sleeping compartments left so I just took the hard seat.

It didn't seem so bad at the time, but now, I'm shuddering at the thought. The trip is 24 hours.

I'm chickening out. Anyone know if you can upgrade and how to go about doing it? Can I just take the tickets back, upgrade and pay the difference?

Thanks for any advice.

Dumbo.

[krakel]

I know it's possible to return your ticket, you don't get all your money back but you do get most of it, I don't remember what the fee was. All you have to do is just by a new one and return the other one.

Good luck!

[charlescpp]

yes, but only on the train.

if there's empty sleeping compartments left during your trip, you can upgrade and pay the diffrence.

[yonitabonita]

Thanks guys. I'm SOOO confused. When I went to the station, the woman told me there were no sleeping compartments left, hard or soft. When I got home I called the ticket office and they said there WERE tickets left but I'd have to pay an extra fee to have them delivered.

I asked if I could just go directly and get the tix myself. The guy was really lovely and said that if I went on the 20th, he could guarantee that I could get a sleeper ticket, but if I went on the 19th, they wouldn't be available. He even gave me his private number to call if I ran into any difficulties getting the ticket.

What's going on here? What am I missing? Can anyone enlighten this novice?

[roddy]

You can sometimes 补票 after you get on board by paying extra at a little booth in the hard seat carriage in the middle of the train (just before the dining car usually I think). However, it's not guaranteed and if at all possible you want to have your desired ticket in hand before you get on the train.

You should be able to return your hard seat ticket, but you'll probably need to go back to where you bought it.

[badr]

The train will always have a few spare sleepers left in case of overbooking or in case some VIP shows up and needs a whole compartment. Usually, even when they tell me there are no sleepers left at the ticket counter, i can manage to upgrade once i get on the train.

Looks like the person you spoke to was just honest by saying that there were still seats left but for why exactly didn't you let them deliver the ticket? the delivery fee is usually about 20-30RMB and that is more than worth it IMHO...

If they can deliver the ticket, go for it...

[yonitabonita]

I'd have jumped on the opportunity for them to deliver. But they'd only do it within Chaoyang. I'm in Haidian...

Thanks for the tips about the upgrade guys.

Yonitabonita

[venture160]

I have also done the 补票 before, I upgraded on tthe Harbin-Beijing line from a hard seat to a hard sleeper, you have to get on the train real fast and talk to a 列车员 real fast or else other people will get to him. It doesn't always work, so be prepared for that outcome, but in my own opinion, I don't think hard sleepers are all that bad, except when drunken Chinese girls play poker all through the night at your table. And I had a job interview the next day. argghhhh:evil:

[yonitabonita]

Do you think getting there 2 hours before the estimated departure time is sufficient to bu piao?

[liuzhou]

I once had a similar problem.

Then met some guy who wanted to downgrade!

I was having a smoke in the corridor (in the days when I still smoked) and this guy came by yelling "Sleeper ticket for exchange!"

I paid him and went to bed. He sat in my seat all night. Next morning he took back my used ticket, pocketed my contribution, then claimed the whole fare back from his danwei!

Two happy travellers!

[roddy]

You can't do it till you actually get on the train, and they don't start 补ing the 票s till the train is out of the station and they know how many spare beds they have - so basically, turning up early won't help much.

If you can still get hold of a sleeper ticket then I would do that, even if you need to go to Chaoyang to collect it - will be much less hassle than trying to upgrade I think. The ticket you already have you can give to a friend you don't really like, try to return, or perhaps even try your hand at ticket-touting at the station . . .

[venture160]

Well turning up early can let the conductors know that you are interested, it is a limited number of tickets and alot of other people ask for the,

[yonitabonita]

The smallest procedures can be endlessly facinating here. Thanks again for your contributions.

[roddy]

True actually, if you turn up early you can be at the start of the queue, on the train first and hence first waiting at the booth to upgrade. But really, if you can get a sleeper ticket by any means then do that.

[yonitabonita]

I should have known to be suspicious of a China railway employee claiming to be able to reserve tickets for me and actually gives me his private number in case anything went wrong.

He told me to get to window 58 of Beijing Station this morning by 8:00am. Apparently the tickets had to be picked up early in the morning else he'd have to sell them to someone else. He called again last night to make sure I'd be there. If I hadn't gotten his number through the official website, I'd have been suspicious of such great service, but I did get it off the official website, so I just ate my dinner thinking how remarkably service orientated China Rail was.

So this morning I hauled my cookies clear across town, only to find that the benevolent railway employee turns out to be a tout. When he said that he sells train tickets at window 58, I didn't think he meant that he lurked outside the window. I saw him barge towards the front of the line, yelling something to the person in the ticket booth.

So anyway, I approached him and asked for my tickets and he said 'bu hao yisi - mai bu zhao" and scurried off. If I wasn't still so sleepy I'd have poked my finger in his eyeball.

But how on earth did the reservation hotline number lead me to this numpty???

Or was I the numpty here?

Y

[zhwj]

If your journey is especially long or popular, upgrading can be difficult. I could only pick up hard seats to Chengdu one summer, and though I made my way to the upgrade counter as soon as the train left the station, I was still #66 on the list, and they never got to my number.

Another time I spoke to a conductor who assured me that she would come and get me when a ticket became available. I never heard my number (or any other higher number) over the intercom, but at around 1:30 am the conductor came walking through the aisle asking if anyone wanted to upgrade to one of the few tickets that were left - she hadn't remembered that I wanted one. So if you do put in for an upgrade, keep attentive to the comings and goings of the conductors.

[md1101]

i upgraded a 24 hour journey from xi'an to hangzhou once no problems. and though they may not be able to upgrade at the start its always possible later as people get off the train. so maybe youll just end up on the seat for 12 hours or something. if all else fails dont worry too much. the 24 hours on the hard seat is not THAT bad. just get off at every stop and try the local (though probably warm) beer.

i did a 38 hour journey hard seat from xi'an to kunming due to the same problem as you. but i didnt bother upgrading once on the train coz i didnt really find it too bad. plus i was short of money at the time so i thought itd be good to save a couple of hundred kuai.

if you're on one of those green trains however then i will say the hardseat will be somewhat more uncomfortable. just make sure your ticket says its an airconditioned train.

[Lu]

I disagree. Hard seat IS that bad. I travelled hard seat from BJ to Henan and back, and from Harbin to BJ, and although it certainly won't kill you, it's not something I'd like to do again. And all those were train rides of about 12 hours, not 24. Only recommended if you don't have much money, or no other tickets are available and you can't wait one more day, or both. Yonitabonita, I hope you can still get a hard sleeper ticket somehow.