Passengers have been able to order railway tickets for the Spring Festival travel rush since this Friday, and engineers are trying to improving the ticket booking system to provide an easier ticket purchasing (购买) experience.
This year's Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, starts on Jan 26 and ends on Mar 5. According to China State Railway Group, more trains are planned during this period to meet the needs of passengers.
Chinese New Year falls on Feb 10 this year. The company said that 12,700 passenger trains will operate before the new year, and 12,800 trains will operate after.
Passengers can order railway tickets up to 15 days in advance. If passengers fail to order tickets, they can add their requirements to a waiting list via the ticket-booking system, including the desired trains and dates.
During this year's travel rush, popular departure and arrival cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Chengdu in Sichuan province, and Wuhan in Hubei province, according to Shan Xinghua, a researcher who is responsible for developing and operating the 12306 ticket-booking system.
New characteristics have been introduced in the 12306 mobile ticket booking system this month to make ticket booking easier.
One characteristic allows passengers to enter necessary information such as personal details, train service numbers, and seat preferences before the ticket booking opens. As soon as tickets become available for purchase, passengers can hand in their requirements and make the payment.
Additionally, passengers can set ticket sales reminders on the application. Travelers can set reminders through the system based on different dates and times when tickets go on sale to avoid missing the booking window.
