Ticket Purchase
You can buy tickets and book seats up to 15 days before departure1. Tickets bought through Hong Kong ticketing channels are sold in HKD. Tickets sold in RMB are available through all Mainland ticketing channels as well as Ticketing Counters in Hong Kong West Kowloon Station.
| Ticketing Channels | Service Hours | Booking Cut-off Time (before train departure) |
Payment Methods | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | e-Payments | |||
| 12306 Online Ticketing Platform (www.12306.cn/ China Railway 12306 Mobile App) |
05:00 am – 01:00 am (next day)4 |
30 mins / 45 mins5 | Not applicable | International credit cards (e.g. Visa and Mastercard), UnionPay and other Mainland designated payment methods |
| Ticketing Counters2 at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station |
06:00 am – 23:00 pm | 30 mins | HKD RMB |
Visa, Mastercard UnionPay, JCB, Octopus Mobile Payment: Alipay (HK & Mainland wallets) WeChat Pay (HK & Mainland wallets) Apple Pay, Google Pay Huawei Pay, Samsung Pay |
| Ticket Machines3 at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station Ticket purchase tutorial |
06:00 am – 23:00 pm | 30 mins | Not applicable | Visa payWave Mastercard PayPass UnionPay QuickPass JCB Contactless Mobile Payment: Alipay (HK & Mainland wallets) WeChat Pay (HK & Mainland wallets) Apple Pay, Google Pay Huawei Pay, Samsung Pay |
| Designated Hong Kong Ticket Agents List of Ticket Agents |
Subject to the arrangements of the individual agents | |||
| Ticketing Counters2 and Ticket Machines3 in Mainland stations | Subject to the arrangements of the individual stations | |||
| Designated Mainland Ticket Agents Click to find an agent (in Simplified Chinese only) |
Subject to the arrangements of the individual agents | |||
1 If you want to buy tickets 15 days in advance, the ticket selling time will vary depending on the individual Departure Station. Tickets for trains departing from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station start selling at 08:00 am
2 Please provide a valid identification document (including for any child eligible for free travel) when buying tickets at Ticketing Counters
3 Ticket Machines at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station only accept original Home Return Permits, Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Permanent Residents (Non-Chinese Citizens), PRC Resident Identity Cards, Mainland Travel Permits for Taiwan Residents and valid Passports. The identification documents accepted by Ticket Machines in Mainland stations are subject to the arrangements of the individual stations. If your accompanied child is eligible for free travel, you must declare and register his/her information by clicking the respective function on the main page after ticket purchase
4 Service hours on Tuesdays are 05:00 am – 12:00 midnight. Ticket refund service is available 24 hours daily
5 If you want to buy tickets for trains departing from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, the cut-off time is 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time
12306 Offers a Comprehensive Ticketing Service
12306 is the official one-stop online ticketing platform of China Railway and is available on both their website and mobile app. If you are a registered user you can buy your Cross Boundary Tickets and Mainland Domestic Tickets online. You can also alter and obtain refunds for your tickets without going to a station. This makes journey planning so much easier!
Loyalty Programme:
Join the China Railway loyalty programme* and earn points for trips to redeem free tickets.
*The loyalty programme is available on the 12306 Chinese platform only
Simple Steps to Buy a Ticket
- Account Registration: Set up an account with designated contact method and real-name verification. Holders of Home Return Permit and Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents can use a Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan mobile phone number or an email address for account registration
- Create a List of Passengers: The registered user is the default passenger on the passenger list. If you wish to buy tickets for your family or friends, simply add their details to the list and complete the verification process
- Select Train: Choose a departure date and Departure and Arrival Stations, then check the availability of trains and seats. After selecting the train, choose the Class of Travel and add any accompanying passengers from your passenger list. For accompanying children eligible for free travel, please register his/her information* after ticket purchase. You can buy a maximum of 9 single journey tickets or 9 round-trip tickets for each transaction. Children eligible for free travel are not counted in the transaction limit
- Select a Seat: Seat preferences can be selected, however, this is subject to final availability
- Payment
* Click the "Order" section and open the "Paid" order page. Click "Declaration of children travelling for free" and select registration, then select the child from the "Passenger list" to complete the declaration. If the child is not on the "Passenger list", you can simply input their information directly. The declaration will be completed after real name verification.
Reminder:
If you are a registered China Railway 12306 mobile app user, a QR Code Ticket will be generated by the app (Chinese platform only) after you buy your ticket. This QR Code can also be used to enter the gate
Click here for more information