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Posts: 548

Shifu

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Q: Does China have enough trains?

I love to travel using trains, but within the past two years, it has become more and more difficult to get tickets. Too often, I am finding tickets "sold out". I usually buy them from C-Trip, so perhaps that is my problem. What do you think? Is China's train industry insufficient to handle the numbers of Chinese people using the train systems? Does China need to expand their rail systems, add more trains to the lines, or add more cars to the existing trains?

On a side note, I have noticed a significant increase in ticket prices. Supply and demand pricing I suspect.

Because trains are sold-out, I have resorted to flying most places, but it is inconvenient since airports are so far away from the destinations I am trying to get to. Often, I am forced to spend an additional hour or more traveling by bus or taxi to get to the final destination.

What are your thoughts?

6 years 42 weeks ago in  Transport & Travel - China

 
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Trains are one of the things China does right. Where and when do you have trouble buying tickets? If I buy in advance, I never have a problem. Find a branch ticket office in your city, they're pretty well spread out usually, and buy from there. They're usually empty as opposed to the crowded stations. 

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I love trains in China and I always use them to any destination in China.

 

One must purchase the train ticket 12-10 days ahead of the trip. I usually ask Chinese friend to buy a ticket for me .... '1233' or sumtin' similar is good website to get a train tickets online.

 

I'll look for that website and repost it.

This is website my buddy uses to purchase train tickets for me:

 

http://www.12306.cn/mormhweb/

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I thought China rail was running at a loss because of all the fast trains they have.

 

When are you having trouble buying tickets? Public holidays?

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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delete

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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need more CRH !   If you have never ridden CRH, do yourself a favor and do it!  The thing hauls balls!

icnif77:

Isn't it? 1000 km in 4 hours flat.

6 years 42 weeks ago
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Stiggs:

I love the fast trains. They're comfortable and reliable and make the country so much more accessible.

 

A beer run that used to require the better part of a day to get where you're going is now only a couple of hours. Trips that used to be an all nighter on a sleeper train are now about 6 hours.

 

I do sort of miss the old slow trains in a way though, they always made traveling that much more of a cool experience.

 

 

6 years 42 weeks ago
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diverdude1:

yeah, Britain did the old trains right, and China does the new trains right.  I sure liked it back when traveling was enjoyable and romantic.  The journey itself was part of the adventure.  Not just an exercise in getting from Point A to B.

6 years 42 weeks ago
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icnif77:

I fancy slow Z&T trains too. Hard-middle-bed, I-pod with EU plugs, some food and off-we-sleep .. When I am not timely limited, I'd rather travel with slower trains than with G.

I found G faster than plane, because there's no traveling from airport to DT and train's boarding is much simpler too.

6 years 42 weeks ago
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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Ah... where do you live?

 

I ask, cos where I am, there are plenty of trains to most places (granted, I'm in a good place!) I'm also lucky to live in a city that has train ticket booking offices scattered around it, so I can get them in person (without paying the high fees C-trip charges). It also means the ticket is in my hand...

 

China is building a hell of a lot of new lines for the CRH trains should have every capital city connected easily within the near future.

 

As for prices, yes - they went up recently, because they hadn't really gone up in years, apparently. This is just catchup. I used to use the CRH regularly (like, almost every week)) for a couple of years, and I can attest that those prices didn't really change in those 2 years.

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Trains are one of the things China does right. Where and when do you have trouble buying tickets? If I buy in advance, I never have a problem. Find a branch ticket office in your city, they're pretty well spread out usually, and buy from there. They're usually empty as opposed to the crowded stations. 

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I have always heard that China's population is always too big for what they are trying to do to alleviate the problem, it's a never ending cycle!

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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The only problem with the fast trains is that once you have to travel x distance, the fast train tickets become comparable in price to air tickets, but flying takes a lot less time then.

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I like the train if im not in a hurry.
Last year we took the train from Harbin down to my wife's city.
Sitting in my warm bed drinking hot coffee while looking out the window at the snow on the forest trees and ice floating down the river (hope it was ice ) .
Best time in China ever.

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Anybody fancy no tracks train?

 

http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2017/06/05/china-unveils-train-that-runs-on-...

 

China has added another piece of public transport innovation to its growing list of achievements in the area.

It may not look as cool as its crazy car straddling bus, but China has unveiled what is purported to be the world’s first train that operates on a virtual track using sensor technology instead of metal rails.

The new trains are battery powered and are said to be nonpolluting, according to the China’s People’s Daily Online.

The train’s top speed is 70 kilometres per hour, and it can travel 25 kilometres in distance after just 10 minutes of charging, the media outlet reported.

The unique public transport initiative was announced on June 2 in Zhuzhou, in China’s southern Hunan province.

A train that runs on virtual tracks debuts in central China's Hunan. It's the 1st of its kind in the world #XinhuaTV pic.twitter.com/sx5DFT76K1

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) June 2, 2017 

The train can reportedly carry up to 307 passengers despite the fact that it is only about 32 metres long.

The vehicle is fitted with sensors that detect the dimensions of the road allowing it to follow routes without the need for metal rails, according to the project engineers.

A Chinese company has been working on the technology since 2013 and hopes to have the trains on the road by 2018.

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6 years 42 weeks ago
 
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