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Assign each Taiwan HSR ticket to its traveller
One person can organise a holiday’s train bookings without wanting to become the group’s full-time ticket dispenser. Taiwan High Speed Rail’s T Express app helps with that: a traveller can distribute reserved-seat tickets to companions, who then use their own phones at the gates. The decision needs to happen before mobile collection, though, especially when someone in the group does not have a suitable phone.
Use mobile distribution when every ticketed traveller can collect and display their own ticket in T Express. Choose physical collection when that arrangement does not fit your group. Once distribution has been carried out, the remaining tickets in that reservation must also be collected through the app. Collecting yours on a phone and leaving a companion’s ticket for paper collection is not the mixed arrangement to plan around. THSR’s current collection rules
This guide covers ordinary reserved-seat bookings through T Express, also called T-EX. Tourist rail passes and their redemption portal follow a separate process.
Count usable phones, not just passengers
Before selecting mobile collection, assign each ticket to the device that will actually travel. A phone left in the hotel room is not much help to the person holding its charger at the station.
Consider a four-person booking:
| Traveller | What they have | Collection decision for this booking |
|---|---|---|
| Alex, who organised the trip | A working phone with T Express | Could use mobile collection individually, but wait until the whole group’s arrangement is settled |
| Sam | A working phone with T Express | Also ready for mobile collection |
| Their child, travelling with a reserved seat | No phone | Needs a physical-ticket plan |
| Their parent | A phone, but no intention of using it for the ticket | Also better served by the physical-ticket plan |
For this group, collect the reservation as physical tickets rather than starting distribution on Alex’s phone. Owning a smartphone is not the same as choosing to manage a rail ticket on it. Each person needs a ticket they can use at entry, exit and inspection.
For four friends who all have the app ready on the phones they will carry, distribution is a reasonable option. The person handling it should collect their own ticket, send the other travellers their assigned tickets and make sure each person has completed collection. “I sent it” and “you have it in the app” are different stages.
If the person booking is staying at home
THSR’s Chinese instructions address this directly. A booker who is not travelling should not collect or distribute the tickets on their own phone. Instead, pass the reservation number and collection identifier to an actual passenger, who loads the reservation, collects their own ticket and distributes the others. Official instructions, including non-travelling bookers
That lets someone in Australia help relatives without making their own phone the boarding device. Keep the booking information private and send it to the intended traveller, rather than dropping identity details into a broad holiday group chat.
The current distribution process uses the app’s sharing function to send the assigned collection link and verification code. The recipient opens it in T Express and completes collection on their own phone. Use the current app flow; older instructions based only on manually loading a booking should not be treated as the universal distribution method. THSR’s distribution explanation
Physical collection is still compatible with booking in the app
You do not have to abandon an app-made reservation simply because paper tickets suit the group better. Before mobile collection and distribution, take the reservation number and the identity document used for the booking to a THSR ticket window. For a foreign visitor, that normally means the passport used as the booking identifier. Collection after an app reservation
Partner convenience stores also provide collection, using the booking details and passport number for foreign passengers. THSR lists 7-ELEVEN, FamilyMart, Hi-Life and OK mart, with an additional NT$10 per ticket. A return counts as two tickets. Four people collecting a return journey therefore have eight tickets and NT$80 in convenience-store fees, on top of the train fares. Convenience-store collection and charges
Choose the station window if you prefer staff to handle the booking directly at the departure station. Choose a participating convenience store if completing collection earlier suits the day better and you accept the fee. In either case, finish the job before heading for the gate; leaving collection until the last few minutes removes the margin that made paper the calmer choice.
Collection changes how you alter the journey
For a reserved-seat booking, the app can handle an eligible date or time change before ticket collection, with the procedure completed at least 30 minutes before the original departure. After mobile tickets have been issued, a train change requires the original mobile ticket at a THSR station window, again at least 30 minutes before departure. Current change instructions
For a hypothetical 14:00 train, that makes 13:30 the latest completion point for that change procedure. It is not a recommended time to join a queue. If the group has already decided to travel earlier or later, deal with it while everyone still has time to act.
Do not use a refund control as an imagined “put the ticket back in the cloud” button. THSR describes refunds as cancellations with a NT$20 per-ticket fee; they are not a promise to preserve the same seats while you reorganise devices. If the issue is the collected ticket or its device, take the booking to the station window rather than experimenting with cancellation.
Once any ticket in the booking has been changed at a station, the other tickets can no longer be collected, distributed or refunded through the app. Take those remaining ticket matters to the station window at least 30 minutes before departure as well. Keep the group together on the decision so nobody is still trying to finish the old phone workflow.
A screenshot is useful for information, not boarding
THSR requires the mobile QR ticket on the phone that collected it. A screenshot or a copy sent to another device is not the accepted substitute. Keep the actual app ticket accessible and the phone charged through the journey, including the exit and any inspection. Mobile-ticket display requirements
If a malfunction or app reinstallation prevents the ticket displaying, take the reservation number and the booker’s identity document to the station ticket window. A lost phone is a different problem: the published ordinary-ticket rule says tickets cannot be reissued and another ticket must be bought, unless a specific product has a different rule. A dead battery likewise does not turn a booking confirmation into a valid mobile ticket.
Save the reservation details separately for assistance, but do not mistake that backup for the boarding document. For this reason, reinstalling the app immediately before travel is a poor troubleshooting experiment.
Mobile data can help with booking, distribution and onward directions; it cannot supply the missing device or make a copied QR code valid. For data during the wider visit, our Taiwan connectivity guide compares the options.
Settle the ticket format while the group is still comfortably planning. Then each traveller can reach the gate with the right ticket, and the person who booked everything can go back to being on holiday too.
Operator instructions checked on 21 October 2026. The four-person booking and 14:00 departure are examples, not tested reservations. No app purchase, collection or gate use was performed.
