Originally Posted by
jiejie
2) There is no guarantee that a particular T train on a particular date will be carrying the deluxe soft sleepers, and you won't find out for sure until the day before, which is really gambling if you are on a fixed schedule.
AFIK, this bit is not true. Train schedules are quite rigid. Every train is either a BJ train or an SH train and they operate in isolation. Moreover, any train that offers deluxe (at the 5 day mark) is going to haul a deluxe car (with or without pax); the marginal cost of doing so is probably less than $500. I have a friend in the business who keeps me abreast of the way things (are supposed) to work.
Having said that, I still remain an advocate of the faster/nicer trains. Privacy has never been much of a priority for me, though I have fond memories of the one time I did deluxe (between Kuche and Turpan) while my friends sweated it out in the seats... perhaps the best $30 I ever spent!