Passenger Trains > Passenger train experience in China

<i>Preface: This is not about politics and government; it is only about my experience with passenger trains in China (with a little wistfulness for our own country thrown in).</i>

Having spent a total of about 5 months in China, and having traveled to many parts of the country by train, I really wish our country (USA) had the kind of passenger service I found in China.

Passenger trains are numerous. In one of the smaller cities (only a couple million population), I counted, on the electronic board, 115 trains daily to various locations. I have traveled on several trips of 24 hours or more and never more than about 20 minutes late. China, like most of the world outside the USA, is adding to its rail infrastructure. I hope one of these days we will wake up and do the same.

Sleepers are comfortable if not very private. Two kinds: Hard sleeper has alcoves of 6 bunks (3 high) and no door; soft sleeper has alcoves of 4 slightly large bunks and a door. Beds in both kinds are comfortable if a little on the hard side. In both you get a decent pillow and a Chinese-style quilt, basically a thick fluffy pad inside a sheet-like cover--very comfortable. I'm gonna send a couple of them home...

Coaches I have seen are 5 seats across, 2 and 3, and are very crowded. There seems always to be a line for the restroom. I haven't had the "pleasure" of riding coach.

Attendants in the sleepers are very efficient, keep the floor swept and mopped, answer questions amiably, provide insulated carafes of hot water, help you on and off the train with your luggage, keep the restrooms clean. (Note: restrooms are locked whenever the train is in a station.) BTW, take your own tissue paper with you everywhere you go in China.

There are several vendors, with narrow airline-style carts, offering various kinds of food and beverages; one vendor with a basket of books and newspapers (only in Chinese), another with a box of ice cream novelties, all of whom travel throughout the train during the day. Prices are reasonable: 4 bananas 63c ice cream bar 38c bottled water 25c Some places bottled water is only 12.5c (1 yuan).

About language: Most of the railroad personnel do not speak much English; I have been traveling with someone who speaks both languages, which has made my travels much easier and enjoyable.

I'd love to share some photos, but have no software to edit them so that will have to wait until I get home.

I've traveled soft sleeper twice in China.

The first time it was just my two male friends and I. When we got into our compartment we found they had sold the fourth bunk to a single woman who didn't speak any English. I doubt you would every find any company in the US that would bunk a single woman in the same compartment/room with 3 male strangers. It didn't bother us or her.

The second time was after we met our local guide. Thus, we had four people and didn't have to share a compartment.

The second time I traveled over night, the train had some hard sleepers. I looked in one and it appeared to me that there were no doors or walls between the compartments. Actually it looked like there were just rows of three high bunks. The car looked very crowded and noise.

Quite a nice description of the service. A few years I rode the overnight train from Beijing to Xian in a soft sleeper with 3 other men, none of whom spoke English. But one figured out that I was interested in purchasing one of the dinners that was being brought through the train on a food cart, and helped me get the order from the cart attendant. Arrival in Xian was on time the next morning, and I had to endure passage through a crowd of very aggressive taxi drivers who wanted to take me everywhere. I only wanted to go to my hotel, which I knew from maps was only about 2 miles away, so I felt I had some bargaining power against the exorbitant rates that those drivers with English were tossing at me, trying to grab my bag to put into their trunk, etc.

I wound up choosing a driver not in the masses, who stood quietly by and made no attempt to rush me. He took me directly to my hotel and I tipped him well, telling him that I appreciated his honesty on the fare. Don't know if he understood any of my English, however.

Spent the day on our wide-ranging tour with other folks, scattered from many places around the world -- USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Korea. Best stop by far was the Terra Cotta warriors, all of which have been rebuilt from the smashed and burned remains of what was once a magnificant burial ground.

I would highly recommend traveling by train in China, if one gets the chance.

My last train ride there was Hong Kong - Guangzhou. Premium class was US$ 30 for a two-hour trip. It was an excellent ride. What I remember most was seeing a southbound pig train. I don't mean multimodal trailers; I mean livestock. I had not seen a stock car in many years, and I don't recall ever seeing a unit livestock train. This one had about 30 cars of pigs oblivious to their imminent fate in Hong Kong.

And do watch out for the aggressive cabbies. Big problem in Macau too.

Wow, five months--you have much to tell I'm sure! I was there for only 2 weeks in Feb. 2005 and rode "soft" sleeper class from Beijing to Chi Feng. Since there were about 30 in my group, we basically had a sleeper all to ourselves.

I found service to be pretty much indifferent with a military-style uniformed woman, very much all business (remember in Communist China, jobs aren't chosen by the individual, they're pretty much assigned) and the language barrier is a cold hard fact which unless your guide is handy, you're S.O.L.. The restroom was pleasantly a western style one (not the hole in the floor that I found in the other Chinese sleepers)so that was a plus--don't understand the hole in the floor thing at all--last time I checked it was 2006 but C'est la Vie, I guess.

At any rate, we arrived O.T. the next AM to Chi Feng where we got on the bus to head to ReShui to begin our Ji Tong Rwy steam adventure--absolutely the trip of a lifetime.

I am in China right now and come here pretty frequently between Japan, here and the US. The toliet thing is pretty universal in Asia, Japan is super modern and they have the same thing. Also the last poster said that in communist china no one chooses their job. That is not true at all, no one is guaranteed a job, or even any sort of welfare payments here. On all of the trains I have ridden on the staff has been very friendly even with no English (I usually travel on my own). I also like the random magic shows or sales pitches the conductors sometimes put on.

Also the most recent cars usually featured on express T trains are great and much more light and spacious than US cars.

ChessieRR Wrote:
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>
> Also the most recent cars usually featured on
> express T trains are great and much more light and
> spacious than US cars.

While on this topic I'd like to note that China has 60, yes 60, ICE train sets on order. In my book the ICE trains are the most passenger-friendly trains in the world. I hope China keeps the configuaration fairly close to the ones used in Germany.

The section car in America still sounds good to me. Why spend hundreds of dollars to lay down for the night? I never could sleep in a chair car. Way too uncomfortable. I would rather lay down in the isle than try to sleep in a chair. The Chinese have the right idea. A low price place to sleep with few amenities. They get it and know what is right for their poverty passengers. Unfortunately in America, the train people just don't get it. Amtrak does not have a clue. I will bet if they had a baggage car with free cots inside, they would fill it up every night if it would save money for the passengers. Give me a break including a microwave dinner in the sleeper cost........Never Again!!

cforssi Wrote:
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> The section car in America still sounds good to
> me. Why spend hundreds of dollars to lay down for
> the night? I never could sleep in a chair car. Way
> too uncomfortable. I would rather lay down in the
> isle than try to sleep in a chair. The Chinese
> have the right idea. A low price place to sleep
> with few amenities. They get it and know what is
> right for their poverty passengers. Unfortunately
> in America, the train people just don't get it.
> Amtrak does not have a clue. I will bet if they
> had a baggage car with free cots inside, they
> would fill it up every night if it would save
> money for the passengers. Give me a break
> including a microwave dinner in the sleeper
> cost........Never Again!!

I'm with you there. I can never understand how people can sleep sitting up for an entire flight to Europe or the West Coast. If there was room to sleep on the floor I'd be a happy camper.

Cots in a baggage car. Sounds like sure-fire foamer bait to me! Place me on the wait list.
...Lorenzo

Hard sleeper from Guangzhou to Shenyang, a trip of about 32 hours, cost about $75. I did get a price like that on the Empire Builder between Seattle and Chicago a few years ago, but those deals are long-gone.

cforssi Wrote:
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> I will bet if they
> had a baggage car with free cots inside, they
> would fill it up every night if it would save
> money for the passengers.


Amtrak's new crew cars.

;-)