Railway stations roll out food delivery service

Passengers waiting for their bullet trains in Guangzhou are now able to order food delivered via an online food ordering service rolled out on July 17.

A total of 27 high-speed railway stations, including Guangzhou South Railway Station, have approved use of the service.

A staff member of Guangzhou South Railway Station demonstrates how to order food online with a mobile phone. [Photo/Xinhua]

Passengers can not only choose from the food provided by the dining car of their trains, but also order food from numerous restaurants near the train station via their mobile phone or computer.

If a passenger orders the take-out, their food will be delivered to a designated place at the railway station and then, after being checked for safety, will be delivered to the online order distribution center. The train attendant will send the food on to passengers.

Apart from ordering food for their own, passengers can also order take-out for their family members or friends.

A worker from a restaurant delivers a food order to the online order distribution center at Guangzhou South Railway Station. [Photo/Xinhua]

When paying for their meals online, passengers can choose to use Alipay or Wechat Pay.

"Passengers have been able to buy train tickets using Alipay for a long time, and now after introducing the online meal ordering system, they can order food without worrying about not having cash," said an Alipay representative.

Different from ordering food at home, all restaurants will stop receiving orders two hours before the departure of the train and if a passenger changes his or her meal plan, he or she must cancel the order two hours before the train departs with the money paid will refunded to the original account. 

A train attendant delivers the food to the passenger who ordered it. [Photo/Xinhua]