New Changes to Ticket Purchase on 12306

On October 25, 2025, the customer service center of the 12306 China Railway (hereinafter referred to as the “12306”) launched its telephone booking service for group ticket purchase. In the meantime, the railway stations nationwide continue selling group tickets on site. 

The new booking service supports inquiries and ticket purchase for group travelers of 20 or more people with the same travel date and train number three days or more before departure. The service is available from 8:00 to 18:00 daily.

How does the new service work?

Tourists intending to buy group tickets can dial the customer service hotline 12306, press “3” to reach a dedicated customer service representative for group tickets, and tell the representative about the planned travel date, train number, seat class(es), number of people, as well as the contact details and identity information of the person making the booking.

Non-Chinese-speaking foreign passengers can call 12306 and press "9" for English-language support regarding group ticket services.

On receiving the request, the 12306’s customer service center will see how many tickets are available for the desired trip. If there are sufficient unsold tickets for the order, an order number for the group tickets will be generated and sent to the person making the booking via text message and telephone. If not, the staff member in charge will discuss with the person making the booking to figure out an alternative plan.

Once an order number has been issued, the buyer should complete the purchase by bringing the identity documents (original copies or photocopies) of all passengers in the group to a service window of any railway stations in China and pay for all the tickets by 24:00 on the day after receiving the notification. The order will be automatically canceled if payment is not completed before the deadline.  

Meanwhile, the 12306’s App and website have increased the maximum number of tickets purchasable per order from 9 to 19, with the number of “passengers” that can be added to a single 12306 account increased from 15 to 30.