Originally Posted by
moondog
I would fly this route because:
1) You're looking at 7.5 hours -- door to door -- on the train v. ~5 on the plane
-in spite of the fact that all of us have wasted huge chunks of time sitting around Chinese airports or being held captive on planes, 2.5 hours is a pretty serious cushion
2) The price difference is negligible if you are somewhat flexible
Basically, at 4 hours, the train wins on BJ-NJ. At 5 hours, BJ-SH is a toss up. At 6 hours, the train loses to the plane on BJ-HZ. (Flying time is more or less the same in all 3 cases.)
moondog,
Appreciate your cost/benefit analysis. You are absolutely right about the time duration and the negligible savings. I too would normally fly this route too.
I am pursuing some train experiences around the world. Just returned from a train trip in Central and Northern Europe. Real fun.
Thought its time to do some in China. Working on a personal pet project, btw.