Multilingual service sorely needed for booking train tickets, association says

The national train ticket booking system should provide versions in foreign languages because the number of foreign travelers in China continues to grow, the China Consumers Association has proposed.

While many domestic airlines and online travel services have launched English versions for ticket booking, the national railway operator's ticket booking systems - the 12306 hotline, 12306.cn website and its mobile phone app - are available only in Chinese, the association said in a recent report.

In consequence, foreign travelers who do not speak Chinese face difficulties on the ticket-selling platform including for high-speed trains.