a girl at a station platform

A plan may not be able to keep up with changes, and uncertainties always happen when on trip. It is not a rare experience that travelers can’t catch their trains on time, for traffic jams or other unpredictable things. But missing the train is not a completely irremediable loss, let’s move on to see how to fix it by reading this article!

As China Rail does NOT allow to make any changes of your ticket(s) online within 40 minutes before departure, you are only able to fix everything at the station physically. You can simply find a ticket window at the station hall to make your request.

There are usually two solutions to choose if you accidentally miss your train: Change to another available train in the same date or, try to ask to get a refund (the refund policy is different in different cities).

Solution 1. Change to Another Train

If you miss your train, China Rail allows passengers to change to another same-route train departing on the same date for free. You can directly go to a ticket window to change your ticket.

Special Notes:

  • You can only change to another train departing on the same date with your original train, changing to other dates is not allowed.
  • Change can be made only there are enough tickets left on the same date, tickets of popular lines are usually sold out in advance.
  • It would be wiser if you check the schedule firstly and then tell the rail staff which train you would like to change to.

You can check all the train schedules from China Railway on China Train Booking app ( IOS, GooglePlay, Android APK ) .

Solution 2. Some Stations May Refund Your Fare

Only when there is no available trains to reschedule, can you submit to get a ticket refund from China Railway. You need to go to the ticket window to submit your request.

Each station has its own policy of refunding missed trains: some stations refuse to refund ticket fare if passengers miss their trains; a few stations will give passengers full refunds if they go to the ticket window in the limited time.

Train stations in Shanghai: If there is no train which is similar to your route on the day, you can get a full refund at the ticket window with in 30 minutes after departing.

Trains stations in Beijing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, and Changsha: Passengers can change their missed train to another same route for free. If there is no left train on that day, your ticket is not refundable.

How to Submit My Request?

All the requests can be submitted at ticket windows. The ticket windows are usually located at the hall of the station.

ticket windows

Ticket windows

If you have not collected your paper ticket(s)...

Please go to a ticket window at your departure train station and submit your request to a rail staff. You will need to present your pickup numbers and passport(s) to the staff.

 

If you have collected your paper ticket(s) already)...

Please submit your request and pass your ticket(s) and passport(s) to the rail staff at your departure train station.  

Top FAQs

1. Are there any further charges to make the changes?

Usually, it costs nothing if you change to the same type of train and seat class. However, if you choose another higher level train or seat, you will need to pay for the price supplement by a Union Card.

2. Can I change my ticket to any time, any seat, or any destination?

No. You can only change your train to another time on the same departure date. It’s better to change your ticket to the same type of train and seat, or lower level train or seat. To upgrade the train and seat, payment is only allowed to be transit by Union Card.

3. Useful Chinese sentences you may need

  • Excuse me, I missed my train. Could you please help me to change my train to a next available one?
  • 您好!我误车了,请问您可以帮我改签到下一趟车次吗?
  • Excuse me, I missed my train. Would you please tell me where can I change my ticket?
  • 您好!我误车了,请问您可以告诉我去哪里可以改签吗?

Any questions? Ask us via FAQS on our App!