At an early time, a paper ticket was necessary even for passengers who bought tickets online. But now people are saying goodbye to paper tickets.
Passengers can swipe (刷) an ID card to pass through a gate before taking a high-speed train. "It's very convenient and fast, "said Wu Yuanzhen, a passenger from Guangxi. "I am a business man and travel a lot by train. For us, time is money. E-tickets save time and improve travel efficiency (效率). "
For passengers who need to change or return their tickets, they can change the tickets or get their fund (退款) through 12306. cn or the ticket office at the station.
Since 2011, passengers have been able to swipe their ID cards at self-service machines to take the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway and Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. And now checking-in by swiping an ID card is available at high-speed railway stations in most cities across China. At stations in some remote (偏远) areas, passengers still need a paper ticket to get on a train.
