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The Jinghu (Beijing-Shanghai) High Speed Rail thread

Old Aug 21, 2018, 7:14 am
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Last edit by: moondog
I started this thread almost exactly 7 years ago. Not a lot has changed since then, but I think a wikipost is now justified:
-Jing refers to Beijing and Hu refers to Shanghai
-the smaller cities in the middle derive the greatest economic benefit from the service
-air fares have dropped a lot during the course of the past 7 years, and the delay situation has improved quite a bit, so I usually fly these days
-single digit trains tend to stop only in Nanjing, double digit trains stop in Nanjing and Jinan, and triple digit trains have up to 7 station stops.
-the vast majority of trains terminate at Shanghai Hongqiao, which isn't convenient for many people, but Shanghai Station service has recently been launched
-if you have a few days advance on your hands, buy tickets locally; in addition to being a little cheaper, this spares the need for will call
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The Jinghu (Beijing-Shanghai) High Speed Rail thread

Old Mar 25, 2012, 12:38 am
  #31  
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Originally Posted by anacapamalibu
They obviously market towards families as they have child's menus

But this is a bit much

Baby Bib - Your Crib or Mine?
Jeez, holy cow...
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Old Mar 25, 2012, 3:08 am
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Originally Posted by moondog
In the case of the latter (speaking of Shanghai, now), that ~700m hallway between tracks 1 and 2 (that all of the desirable BJ-SH trains seem to use) and the subway station entrance is simply not well equipped for retail. Sure, it is wide enough to have shops on both sides, but it lacks allocation for them (in terms of the architectural setup).

I am guessing that many seasoned mall operators would have simply creamed over the prospect of playing a role in the development of either of these projects, and would have invested in order to cover any differences in construction costs between what we have now, but they didn't appreciate the scale of the foot traffic has become a reality when the plans were in their early or intermediate stages... their loss... and, ours, as well.
Lao Moondog, a few more and sometimes quite passable dining and take away options are available in the departures level corridors between SHA T2 and the train station. Including my favourite little coffeeshop/diner with good wifi connection, the exact location I feel reluctant to disclose here.
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Old Mar 25, 2012, 8:15 pm
  #33  
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I'm writing from aboard G3. Two things are (mildly) noteworthy about today's journey: 1) I finally took it upon myself to get a good 3G setup; and 2) we're riding in "business class".

Regarding #1, last week I discovered that 3G wireless works pretty well on the train (a colleague permitted me to toggle). I kind of already suspected this, but I had convinced myself otherwise because I dreaded the thought of spending hours in a Unicom store and giving Unicom unfettered access to my bank account. In any event, I overcame this fear yesterday because I decided that the benefits outweigh the downsides. Instead of going to Unicom, I went to the electronics market near Chef Too in Beijing in order to purchase a 3G router. I ended up getting a WCDMA model for y600 (I didn't haggle at all). As far as the data is concerned, my fears were unfounded because they sell prepaid 3G sims in the same market. Here's the deal:

-the card I bought was y300
-y80/G and a minimum of y80 per month (this last part doesn't sound right to me, now that I think about it)

Regarding #2, the people I'm traveling with wanted to check out business class, and we're doing just that. It's pretty much exactly how I imagined it (comfortable seats, few other passengers, Chinese only video programming, minimal service). I suppose I can recommend it to visitors who want to try the train once; it is certainly nicer than 1st class and 2nd class... though I still have a soft spot for the dining car.
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Old Mar 26, 2012, 12:37 am
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Is this the "business class" at RMB 1750 per seat?!
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Old Mar 26, 2012, 2:53 am
  #35  
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Originally Posted by jiejie
Is this the "business class" at RMB 1750 per seat?!
Yes, it sure was. My guys were hoping to nab sight seeing class (front of first car), but I didn't know there was a difference between this and business class until we boarded the train. Some of us could have sat there, I suppose, because only one of the 5 seats was occupied, but with our mountain of luggage, it was easier to stay put in our assigned car (#3).
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Old Mar 26, 2012, 8:39 am
  #36  
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Originally Posted by moondog
Yes, it sure was. My guys were hoping to nab sight seeing class (front of first car), but I didn't know there was a difference between this and business class until we boarded the train. Some of us could have sat there, I suppose, because only one of the 5 seats was occupied, but with our mountain of luggage, it was easier to stay put in our assigned car (#3).

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Old Mar 31, 2012, 10:16 pm
  #37  
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Hi, all.

I'm writing to you from the outskirts of Nanjing, en route to the 首都. I don't really have anything noteworthy to report, but I will state that this internet thing is the game changer, and is well worth the time/money to set up.

I did KFC again this morning. Until anyone comes forth with a better option, I will make do with KFC.
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Old Apr 8, 2012, 1:23 am
  #38  
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I don't have anything of tremendous interest to post about today's journey, but here are a few random tidbits:

1) The train ladies (Shanghai crew; all trains leaving BJ after 1p are) are sporting these bold new uniforms that I can't decide whether I love or loathe (v-neck sweater with purple floral print, silk scarf, plaid pants)

2) Shanghai based trains seem to serve Heineken v. Yanjing on Beijing based trains; cost is y10 in both cases; we pre bought 6 upon boarding and had them stick them in the fridge for us... should make the last 1.5 hours more enjoyable

3) The ticket lady actually did check my passport, but she didn't check my colleague's, nor did she bother to match it with my ticket; I don't expect this practice to last long

4) We ended up buying our tickets at the booking office near my house this morning; the single and double digit trains were sold out, so we're on a triple digit train (stops in around 7 cities)

5) The smog in Ji'nan is pretty bad
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Old Apr 30, 2012, 10:14 am
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Thanks Moondog for your frequent updates to this thread.

I am planning on taking the HSR in November from BJ to SH and had a couple of questions for you.

I fly into Beijing on a Wednesday afternoon and am planning on taking one of the first G trains out friday morning to SH. I am looking at either G101 or G103. Should I plan on purchasing tickets for this train (1 way in first class) the day I arrive? Is it best to just have my hotel do this for me? I wasn't sure if this would be far enough in advance to get them.

Also, is this an accurate website to reference schedules?

http://www.cnvol.com/station-1/en-150.htm

Thank you!
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Old Apr 30, 2012, 10:50 am
  #40  
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Why do you want to book a 3-digit train?


Originally Posted by former230
Thanks Moondog for your frequent updates to this thread.

I am planning on taking the HSR in November from BJ to SH and had a couple of questions for you.

I fly into Beijing on a Wednesday afternoon and am planning on taking one of the first G trains out friday morning to SH. I am looking at either G101 or G103. Should I plan on purchasing tickets for this train (1 way in first class) the day I arrive? Is it best to just have my hotel do this for me? I wasn't sure if this would be far enough in advance to get them.

Also, is this an accurate website to reference schedules?

http://www.cnvol.com/station-1/en-150.htm

Thank you!
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Old Apr 30, 2012, 12:18 pm
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Originally Posted by moondog
Why do you want to book a 3-digit train?
I guess I am ignorant as to the meaning of differences in the length of the train number. I was just specifically looking for an early morning departure and thus earlier arrival into Shanghai to maximize my time in SH. The schedule I saw indicated that these were amongst the earlier arrival times in SH.

I thought these were arbitrarily assigned train numbers for id purposes only. The letter (G) I do understand the meaning of (G being the fastest trains right now).

I would certainly appreciate your guidance on this. Thank you!
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Old Apr 30, 2012, 4:55 pm
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Originally Posted by former230
I guess I am ignorant as to the meaning of differences in the length of the train number. I was just specifically looking for an early morning departure and thus earlier arrival into Shanghai to maximize my time in SH. The schedule I saw indicated that these were amongst the earlier arrival times in SH.

I thought these were arbitrarily assigned train numbers for id purposes only. The letter (G) I do understand the meaning of (G being the fastest trains right now).
The numbers are not quite arbitrary.

The 3 number trains, G101 to G163 are the slowest trains, which take between 5:22 and 5:35. They do so because they make something like 6...7 intermediate stops - all of them stop at Jinan West and Nanjing, but the other 4...5 stops are different for each.

The numbers G31...G43 are direct trains which continue after Hongqiao to Hangzhou. Between Beijing and Shanghai they behave like 3 number trains and take 5:24...5:35.

The numbers G11...G21 are express trains which all make exactly 2 intermediate stops - Jinan West and Nanjing South - all take exactly 4:55 and all depart at full hours, namely 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17.

The numbers G1 and G3 are express trains which make 1 intermediate stop at Nanjing South, take 4:48 and depart at full hours 9 and 14.

Thus the full hours with expresses of some kind are 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17.

Since the railway only opens at 7:00, the first stopping train G101 departs 7:00 and arrives 12:23. Whereas the first express G11 departs 8:00 and arrives 12:55 - 32 minutes later, and leaves 60 minutes later in the morning.

Unless you specifically need to be somewhere in Shanghai around 13, you can sleep longer by picking express, non-three-number train.
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Old May 1, 2012, 6:43 am
  #43  
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Originally Posted by former230
I guess I am ignorant as to the meaning of differences in the length of the train number. I was just specifically looking for an early morning departure and thus earlier arrival into Shanghai to maximize my time in SH. The schedule I saw indicated that these were amongst the earlier arrival times in SH.

I thought these were arbitrarily assigned train numbers for id purposes only. The letter (G) I do understand the meaning of (G being the fastest trains right now).

I would certainly appreciate your guidance on this. Thank you!
chornedsnorkack did an excellent job of explaining my thinking on this matter, and deserves props.

But, I have a bit more to add. I really dislike G1 and G2 because: 1) they are always packed; and 2) the train stations are a madhouse at 9, but not so much at 8 or 10.

I like G3 and G4, but not enough to go out of my way to book them (basically, the extra 7 minutes that double-digit trains entail don't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme).

My SOP is to go straight to car 9 (dining car), get a good table, and hang out there until I hit Nanjing (southbound) or Jinan (northbound), and then plop myself in a first class seat for the rest of the journey. The fact that I am tight with many train people helps wrt self upgrading (i.e. they bring me to an open seat), but you guys can presumably do the same because nobody seems to care. I wouldn't attempt this strategy on a 3-digit train, and I never shoot for business class because I don't want to get anybody fired (since demand for it is so low, the conductor has a pretty good idea of those who have actually shelled out y1750 to sit there).

Last edited by moondog; May 1, 2012 at 6:49 am
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Old May 1, 2012, 8:31 am
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Thank you both for the clarification/explanation. That really helps and makes sense.

Much appreciated.
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Old May 1, 2012, 9:13 am
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Originally Posted by former230

Also, is this an accurate website to reference schedules?

http://www.cnvol.com/station-1/en-150.htm
My question, too.

I find a number of websites offering train schedules, with different search tools and convenience - and occasional differences in facts.

So which of these are likely to be right when they differ, and can be trusted?

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/chin...nno1=&depDate=

No G103.

http://www.cnvol.com/

G103 is there, at 7:05, arrives 12:30, stops Dezhou East, Jinan West, Tengzhou East, Bengbu South, Nanjing South, Wuxi East, Shanghai Hongqiao.

http://trains.china.org.cn/search-list.asp

No G103 either.

http://www.chinahighlights.com/china...anghai-trains/

No G103 either. Note that G105 is passed by G11.

http://www.chinatravelguide.com/ctgw...Submit1=submit

No G103 either.

http://www.chinatrainguide.com/stntostn.php

No G103 either.

Which should be trusted?
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