Ticket Reservation Service for Beijing-Shanghai Rail Routes on Trial From July 20

Travelers on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and the conventional Beijing-Shanghai Railway will soon be able to reserve train tickets up to 60 days before departure under a new pilot program, China State Railway Group announced on Thursday.

Starting from Monday, the new reservation service will cover more than 200 train services. Passengers can submit reservation requests through the Railway 12306 mobile app between 60 and 17 days before departure. The system will process and confirm reservation orders between 20 and 16 days before the train leaves.

The trial or transition period will run from July 20 to August 29, during which passengers can reserve tickets for departures on or after September 15. From August 30, the service will operate on a regular basis for eligible trains.

The reservation service is currently available only to individual passengers and does not support group bookings for more than 19 travelers. Each 12306 account can have up to three pending reservation orders at the same time, with each order covering as many as 19 passengers.

Passengers can choose between two reservation options. The "precise reservation" mode allows travelers to select specific trains, departure and arrival times, seat classes, and fares based on available schedules. The "flexible reservation" mode lets passengers specify preferred departure time ranges, travel duration, and seat classes instead.

Railway authorities said ticket allocation will follow the principles of prioritizing long-distance travel while accommodating medium- and short-distance demand, as well as a first-come, first-served approach. Travelers will be notified of the results through the 12306 app, WeChat, Alipay, or SMS. Confirmed reservations must be paid for by 11pm on the day of confirmation, or they will be canceled automatically.

New refund and ticket change rules will also take effect for reserved tickets. Tickets canceled between 20 and eight days before departure will incur a 5 percent refund fee. Within eight days of departure, existing refund and change policies will continue to apply. Reserved tickets may be changed once within the advance booking period.