Tianjin airport links to Beijing rail

Tianjin Binhai International Airport has built a ticketing facility at Beijing South Railway Station, with the goal of attracting passengers who want to avoid the one-hour travel time between the station and the Tianjin airport.

Passengers will be able to buy air tickets and complete check-in procedures at the Beijing station, and then take the 30-minute bullet train to Tianjin Railway Station free of charge. A bus will then carry passengers to the Tianjin Binhai International Airport, also free.

"The cost of the train and bus will be returned to passengers after their journey," said Xu Lijuan, a senior official of the Tianjin airport.

The new ticketing and check-in facility underwent a trial run at the end of March, Xu said, and saw "an increasing number of passengers from southern Beijing choosing the new system."

"After it opens in May, about 1.4 million passengers will be expected to take off from Tianjin instead of Beijing this year," Xu said.

In 2013, the Tianjin airport processed handled about 10 million passenger trips, about 12 percent of the passenger count of Beijing Capital International Airport.

"It is a new model to link the railway and the airline, building a faster and more convenient travel line for some travelers," said Zhang Hu, sales manager of the marketing department of the Tianjin airport.

Tianjin Binhai airport has also worked with Beijing's airport to jointly develop more flights and airlines, with the target to boost a better development of Tianjin airport.

To meet the travel demand for residents in Hebei province, the Tianjin airport has set up terminals in Cangzhou and Huanghua in the neighboring province, and is planning to expand its operating model to Qinhuangdao, Tangshan and Beidaihe.

Terminal 2 of the Tianjin airport is expected to be operational by August. It is expected to handle 30 to 50 million passenger trips in the coming year.