Originally Posted by
susiesan
We will be taking D and G trains between Shanghai-Nanjing-Suzhou-Hangzhou.
I will try to avoid rush hours for traveling, aiming for trains either late morning or mid afternoon.
If the luggage is left in the entry area of the cars are there racks for it or does it just pile up in the aisles? Should I lock the luggage so no one rifles through it? Has there ever been problems with another passenger walking off with someone else's luggage, stealing it, if it is out of sight?
When the train pulls into a station that's not the end of the line, how long do you have to get your luggage down, make your way to the door, and get off the train? Is it like the Shinkansen in Japan, where the trains only stop for a minute and you have to jump on and off really fast? Does one want to make their way to the door 5-10 minutes before the train stops?
I don't think the time of day will make a significant change in anything, except your chances of getting seats on the next train. There is a schedule they follow, and I don't think that the station will be overflowing that much.
The luggage situation is kind of like that on Amtrak with a space at the end of each car where you can put the big bags - if you leave it on a rack it has the risk of being stolen. Again, not likely, but possible.
The schedules for all the trains are online and they should arrive and depart somewhat on schedule. I don't know what site you use in English, but train.qunar.com is good and I think a non-Chinese reader can figure it out (although you mention knowledge of Japanese so that should make it possible, I believe). Just type in Shanghai - Nanjing, or whatever and the list will come up and you can see how long the train stops at each station. Generally they will let you down onto the tracks 10 minutes before the train will leave. It's enough time, just be aware of which car your ticket is for and it's location on the tracks and you should be fine