How do ticket vending machines work?

The Spring Festival travel rush means ticket vending machines at railway stations are busier than normal.

Many people like getting their tickets from a vending machine due to the convenience.

At Shijiazhuang Railway Station in Hebei province, there are 75 vending machines at various locations in the station.

To offer better ticket purchasing service and ensure the machines operate well, maintenance crews usually go from one machine to another to regularly check them and make repairs when necessary.

According to station crews, one machine will produce about 3,000 train tickets on average each day during the 40-day travel rush.

A machine can hold two reels of original tickets at a time, each containing 1,000 tickets.

After the tickets run out, crews must add new ones to keep it running.