Alternation of China High Speed Train Tickets

You may feel confused about how to make an alteration of your tickets in China. Don’t worry, your problems can be solved after read the below details.

China Train Ticket Alteration Policy & Charges

A China train ticket can only be changed once. An e-ticket booked through China official ticket website 12306.cn can be altered online at least 30 minutes prior to departure. Other than this, you should make an alteration at train stations.

When You Need to Make an Alteration?

● When you unfortunately miss your High Speed Train and still want to go to your destination by train ( NOT normal China trains named after T, L, K or Z)

● When you want to change your departure date or time

● When you want to change your seat class type

● When you want to take another type of train (like Fuxing High Speed Train)

When You Cannot Make an Alteration?

● When you have already made an alternation

● When there is no ticket available

● When you want to change your arrival city while there is less than 48 hours left before departure

● When you want to delay your departure date while there is less than 48 hours left before departure

● When you forget your order number of your online booked tickets

● When you cannot provide your original valid passport (or other valid documents) used for online booked tickets

Notice: The arrival station and departure station on the above form only refer to other stations in the same city of your orignal tickets. For example, you can change you departure station from Chengdu East Railway Station to Chengdu Station if there are tickets left.

Documents Required for Alteration

For tickets booked at train stations, there is no requirement for original valid passport. But if you book online and want to make an alteration at the ticket window, you need to provide your original valid passport and order number (E+9 numbers) together.

China train ticket Alternation Charges - Price Difference

Usually, there is no separate fee required for alternation. Your overpaid money will be return if the new ticket price is lower than your original one. However, if the price of the new ticket is higher than your original one, about 5% of the difference will be charged as service fee. A service fee may require if you book through an agency, so you’d better check that before booking.

How to Alter China Train Ticket - Alteration Windows (改签窗口)

You should queue in front of ticket alteration windows (改签窗口) inside the ticket office (售票厅) of train stations. Always long queues in front of the counters there, especially during holidays. Give your documents and ticket to the staffs, and they will help you deal with the rest. Most railway stations open 24 hours in a day, but there are a few ticket windows available after 11:00pm.

Only selected staffs in metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai MAY speak English, so you can show the below sentences when you encounter with some language barrier:

● English: Hello, I couldn’t find the ticket office, could you help me?

   Chinese: Chinese:你好！我找不到售票厅，可以帮下我吗？

● English: Hello, I want to alter my train ticket, is this the correct line?

   Chinese: 你好！我想要改签车票，请问是在这里排队吗？

● English: Hello, I want to make an alteration. Here are my passport and ticket, thank you!

   Chinese: 你好！这是我的护照和车票，我想改签，谢谢！

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>>Check more about How to Book China High Speed Train Tickets

>>Check more about How to Read China High Speed Train Tickets

>>Check more about How to Collect China High Speed Train Tickets

>>Check more about China High Speed Train Ticket Cancellation - Documents, Policy & Charges