Source：BeijingService 2026-07-20

On July 20, more than 200 trains on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway have piloted a new ticket reservation service. Passengers can submit their reservation orders through the "Ticket Reservation" (预约购票) section of the Railway 12306 app 17 to 60 days before their intended departure dates, and the Railway 12306 system will fulfill these orders 16 to 20 days before departure. A transition period for this service will run from July 20 to August 29, during which passengers can reserve their tickets for September 15 and later dates. Starting from August 30, tickets for travel 17 to 60 days before departure can be booked regularly.

2 Modes: "Precise Reservations" and "Flexible Reservations"  

For "Precise Reservations", the system will draw on the current train schedules and historical data to present options such as departure and arrival time, seat classes, and fares. You can then make the choice based on your specific needs. 

For "Flexible Reservations", you can set broader preferences instead, such as departure and arrival time slots, journey duration, and seat classes. 

Each Railway 12306 account may have up to 3 pending reservation orders at a time. A single order can include up to 3 "Precise Reservations" and 2 "Flexible Reservations" across 2 consecutive days, and you must rank the available trains in order of priority. Each order can include up to 19 passengers.  

Ways to Know Your Results of Order Fulfillment  

Submitting a reservation order does not mean your ticket has been secured. The system fulfills orders each day from 16 to 20 days before the relevant departure date and notifies passengers of the result through the Railway 12306 app, (WeChat, Alipay, or SMS). If an order is fulfilled, the passenger can obtain the reserved ticket by completing payment before 23:00 the same day. If payment is not made in time, the order will be canceled automatically. 

Passengers may cancel a submitted order at any time before it is fulfilled. However, if a passenger fails to make payment on time for a fulfilled order 3 times in a row within 30 days, which includes voluntarily canceling a fulfilled order, his/her Railway 12306 account will be barred from using the reservation service for the following 90 days.  

New Rules for Refunds and Changes of Reserved Tickets  

For the new reservation service, new rules have been introduced for refunding and changing reserved tickets. Once a reservation has been fulfilled and paid for, both the purchaser and the passenger may apply for a refund of or a change to the reserved ticket. 

1. Details of Rules for Refunds 

For passengers holding a reserved ticket: 

For a refund requested 8 to 20 days before the departure date, a fee of 5 percent of the ticket's face value will be charged. 

For a refund requested within 8 days before departure (excluding the eighth day before the departure date), the existing rules for advance-sale tickets will apply. 

2. Details of Rules for Changes 

Any passenger holding a ticket obtained through the reservation system may change the ticket once to another ticket available within the advance-sale period. 

For a change of reserved ticket requested 8 to 20 days before the departure date, if the new ticket costs less than the original, the difference will be refunded, and a fee of 5 percent will be charged for the difference; if the new ticket costs more, the passenger will pay the difference. 

For a change requested less than 8 days before departure (excluding the eighth day before the departure date), the existing rules for changing advance-sale tickets will apply. If a refund is later requested on the changed ticket, the refund rules for reserved tickets will apply.