Passengers offered extended booking window for Beijing-Shanghai trains

China's railway operator will introduce an advance train ticket reservation service on two major rail routes from July 20, giving passengers more flexibility to plan their journeys ahead of time while helping railway authorities better align train capacity with travel demand, the national railway operator China State Railway Group said on Friday.

Currently, passengers can purchase train tickets up to 15 days before departure. Under the pilot program, travelers will be able to submit reservation requests through the "ticket reservation" section on the 12306 mobile app — the official railway ticket platform— from 17 to 60 days before departure. The system will process reservation orders and provide results between 16 and 20 days before departure.

From July 20 to Aug 29, the service will enter a transition period, during which passengers can gradually submit reservations for trains departing on or after Sept 15. Starting Aug 30, the service will become a regular feature, allowing passengers to make reservations for trips 17 to 60 days in advance.

The pilot program will initially cover more than 200 trains on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and the Beijing-Shanghai railway, two of China's busiest rail corridors.

Railway authorities said the new service will allow them to better understand passenger travel demand in advance, optimize train capacity arrangements and improve ticket allocation. Passengers can choose between precise reservations, which provide specific train, seat and fare options, and flexible reservations based on preferred travel times, journey duration and seat categories.

The new service comes during the 2026 summer travel rush, which began on July 1 and will run for 62 days until Aug 31. During the period, China's railway network is expected to handle 1.01 billion passenger trips, with daily passenger traffic averaging 16.29 million. The company said it will continue to monitor the pilot program, improve related services and gradually expand the scope of the initiative to provide passengers with a more convenient and efficient travel experience.