中国告别纸质火车票

China is to promote e-ticket system for high-speed trains nationwide in 2019, Lu Dongfu, general manager of China Railway Corp, announced at a recent forum.

中国铁路总公司总经理陆东福在最近的一次论坛上宣布，中国将于2019年在全国范围内推广高铁电子售票系统。

Passengers will be able to swipe their mobile phones or ID cards to enter or exit the railway station, without carrying paper tickets, said Lu.

陆说，“乘客可以不带纸质车票，用手机或身份证刷卡进出火车站。”

Commuters in China are already using mobile phones for subway and bus. The technology for high-speed rail, however, is only available in certain stations and lines crossing big cities.

中国的上班族已经在地铁和公交车上使用手机。然而，高铁技术仅在某些跨越大城市的车站和线路上可用。

At stations in some remote areas, travelers still need the paper ticket to get on the train.

在一些偏远地区的车站，旅客仍需要纸质车票才能上火车。

As early as this year’s fourth quarter, trials for the e-ticket will begin at many pilot stations, according to the Wuhan Railway Bureau, with the service becoming available all over the country next year.

据武汉市铁路局消息，早在今年第四季度，电子车票的试用就将在许多试点站开始，明年这项服务将在全国普及。

Many netizens shared the view that paper train tickets could become extinct someday and will only be part of nostalgic memories for people.

很多网友都认为纸质火车票终有一天会绝迹，只会成为人们怀旧记忆的一部分。

“As an environmentalist, I am very happy to see we’re moving into an era of paperless ticketing, as it will save a lot of trees and water resources,” user @blingblingsu commented on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.

网友blingblingblingsu在新浪微博上评论道:“作为一名环保人士，我很高兴看到我们进入了无纸化售票的时代，这将节约很多树木和水资源。”

“Finally, I don’t have to wait in line to get the paper ticket which is a waste of time and makes me feel anxious for fear of missing the train,” another user commented.

另一位用户评论道:“我终于不用再排队买票了，那太浪费时间，还让我担心错过火车。”

From the 1940s, train tickets in China have gone through four stages as technologies advanced.

从20世纪40年代开始，随着技术的进步，中国的火车票经历了四个阶段。