Passes will save money on Beijing-Tianjin rail route

Pass holders will use their cards at a special ticket machine where they can choose a train and print a ticket with a seat assignment.

"We are trying to keep the Beijing-Tianjin intercity line in the lead," said Huang Xin, deputy director of CRC's transport bureau. "The train pass is an innovation, and we are looking forward to seeing future promotions on other railways."

Passengers have been expecting the discount passes since the Tianjin government announced in February that they would be issued, said Zou Yirong, from the marketing department of Tianjin Research Institute for Advanced Equipment, affiliated with Tsinghua University in Beijing.

"The train pass was the talk of the office back then," she said, adding that about 40 researchers at her institute are regular commuters between the two cities - and they would save time and money with the passes.

Xiang Nan, chairman of a Tianjin-based investment company that has offices in Beijing and Tianjin, said: "We are definitely going to make a group purchase for me and five other colleagues who need to take the train every day."

"I used to spend 2,600 yuan on the train every month. Now 400 yuan of that can be saved. That is good news for me," said a man who only disclosed his name only as Duan. The man paid for 100 single journeys with second-class seats on Monday as he often has to travel between Beijing and Tianjin for work.