New ticketing initiative makes cross-border travel flexible

Travelers taking high-speed trains between Shenzhen’s Futian Station and Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station can change their schedule thrice on their departure date after rescheduling once or exceeding the rescheduling deadline.

The “Flexible Travel” program, to be implemented Monday, is limited to round trips between the two stations, according to an announcement from the operator, Guangzhou Railway Group Corp.

Travelers board a high-speed train to Hong Kong at Futian Railway Station in this undated photo. Lu Chunxiao

Under the program, travelers can reschedule their trips no later than an hour after their original train has departed and 15 minutes ahead of their new departure time. Changes to the departure and destination stations are not allowed.

Passengers are not allowed to change the ticket type or seating class when applying for a change. Only changes to the same priced train services are permitted to avoid any fare difference.

After the change is made, the ticket cannot be refunded.

A view of Futian Railway Station in Futian CBD. File photo

For passengers who have obtained reimbursement vouchers before making a change, they must return the reimbursement vouchers when applying for the change. After the change is made, they can get reimbursement vouchers for the new tickets.

Travelers can reschedule their trips via the China Railway app and its website, www.12306.cn, as well at ticket counters and ticket vending machines at the two stations.

Data showed that there are now 180 trains running between Shenzhen and Hong Kong every day. Between Jan. 15, when the cross-border high-speed rail service resumed, and Aug. 6, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link handled 8.08 million passengers, or 40,000 passenger trips a day.

“The ‘Flexible Travel’ program will provide commuters between the two cities more options,” Prof. Jin Yibing, a railway research expert, said.

Futian Station is upgrading its ticketing system to meet the demand for flexible travel and conduct employee training, according to Zhang Yuxiu, head of the station.