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Thread: TRAINS:- is it best to buy tickets from station?

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[quote=ORIM,254796]Train ticket prices are fixed and set in stone. You can see schedules and prices in: http://www.huochepiao.com/ (it's in Chinese, you may need to find a Chinese speaker to help you navigate). 
The train stations will always give these prices.

Other than that, you have two options:
1. Formal train ticket resellers. These are hooked up to the railways' computer systems and can issue exactly the same tickets - when the train station is out of tickets they will be out of tickets, and vice-versa. Their location is usually more convenient, i.e. downtown. They add a fixed markup on the official ticket prices, usually 5 RMB.

2. Scalper offices. These are common in places/times where train tickets are hard to get - e.g. Xi'an, or during Chinese holiday seasons - and will buy many tickets in advance, selling them for a higher price. They take a higher commision,  usually 20-40 over the fixed price, but it's a jungle and everything goes. Sometimes the train station will be out of tickets (because the scalpers buy them.. grr...) and you will have no choice but to go for this option.

Normally I would recommend option #1 over going to the train station, assuming you have such an office near your hotel. The lines are shorter than in the train station and the 5 RMB is what you would pay for a bus to the train station anyway, and that's before taking into account your wasted time.[/quote]

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