anacapamalibu

Beijing must enforce the rules, whereas Shanghai has
loopholes.

moondog

I am still inclined to go with the, "my agent was lazy/incompetent" theory; her computer terminal was identical to the ones at the train station.

mnredfox

You need to start looking more Chinese.

mosburger

Whatever you do, don't go to the Shanghai main station ticket hall to queue with non-existent air conditioning and long lines of sharp-elbowed migrant workers.

Had to do it once during my six or so CRH train trips in the past two weeks as I was the only non-Chinese national in a group of 10 and we had to get the next available train to our destination. Not cool, by all definitions of the word.

Honqgiao is better, air-conditioned ticket counters inside the security perimeter but for comfort the kiosks are unbeatable for the buyer-in-person.

moondog

While I agree that going to train stations in order to procure tickets sucks, in my recent case, it was the path of least resistance. You see, the alternative was to pay more than twice the price for an airplane ticket, and I only spent y40 in order to get to and from Beijing Station (in addition to 40 minutes of my time... I was really lucky to find a taxi on the way back).

In the future, I will try my best to book online (need to jump through a few hoops first).

kb1992

Who started this stupid idea of requiring IDs for D/G trains?

I had to wait long line to buy a ticket this month in China for SHA-Nanjing (strongly recommend Shanghai South Station which is better than Shanghai or Hongqiao, it's closer too).

The agent didn't even enter my PP#. Instead, she entered my expired visa number.

Then, nobody even bothered to check my ticket or ID at train station or on the train.

I can't use machines which are faster!

I raised this issue to CCP city department of Unified Front staff.

Totally stupid move, what a waste. Wait until CNY when so many people are traveling.

BTW, charging twice for G trains which may not be much faster than D trains is rip off.

anacapamalibu

[QUOTE=kb1992;16734423]Who started this stupid idea of requiring IDs for D/G trains?

Totally stupid move, what a waste. QUOTE]

Considering the speed of the trains in the event of an accident
it could be impossible to identify the victims. With positive ID
its much easier for the government to settle claims.

moondog

Thanks for visiting the China Forum, kb (I know you from your NW and UA posts). Since I believe you are a native of China, I presume you are familiar with the "this is China" explanation. In such situations, there are usually loopholes to be exploited. As soon as we identify relevant loopholes in the instant case, they will be posted here.

When booking my recent ticket, I called the concierge at my beloved Capital Ren, and was gladly willing to pay a y50 premium to spare me a 10 minute walk to the nearest kiosk; and, had I known that I'd be forced to go to Beijing Station during rush hour, I would have upped my premium to y100.

But, they simply didn't want to play ball. To be fair, their concierge service isn't exactly stellar, but in the old days, it was possible to rely on low end restaurants to procure train tickets (bare in mind that the Ren is a 5 star hotel).

Just like DCC, we will defeat this beast as long as we are persistent.

Jiatong

It is complex to buy on line, but as posted before can be done on this china web site; www.12306.cn

Ok, now on my HSR experiences this week,
The BJ to Jinan segment went fine at BJ south, as its the start of the BJ to SH HSR line, & the economy seat was ok & the AC worked ok. Expect some gate lice at BJ south, but it is China, & i had an economy ticket.

Now the economy return from Jinan to BJ on friday afternoon....
- The on line purchase was again fine at 2 days prior.
- i did get a paper ticket with my passport at the ticket window in Jinan 'west' about 15 minutes before departure. security is a joke there.
- The G train only stops for 2 minutes, not much time to get on with luggage.
- Glad i had a paper ticket, as some lazy SH dude was in my seat & would not move !. ( also no room for luggage overhead ). So i found a train employee to move him.
- This was the last leg of the G16 train, & the AC was limited on this day, it was 32 C outside, and about 26 C in the train on this leg.
- Not many taxi's upon arrival in BJ south as the taxi line was already long inside.. So we took the busy subway # 4 with luggage..

To do differently next time.
- If getting on the HSR between BJ and SH, i will buy a class up from economy. & have less luggage, with no large fragile gifts...
- The complex online system works , but be flexible on the time slots if desiring a peak time of day travel on a friday.

moondog

I think this will be a difficult proposition to make to clients/employers because economy costs y555 whereas business costs y1750.

In the case of airplane tickets, it's typically more like y1300 v. y1500... a much easier sell. I'll be sure to report back after my trip on Monday (I'm taking one of those trains that only stops in Nanjing).

Jiatong

True, the HSR business class is triple, but the first class is only about 80 % more than economy at 935 y.

Oh, BTW, on air tickets; on CZ, the w class has an extra 5 " of legroom over economy...

kb1992

Thanks, Mr. Ambassador.

There are some major drawbacks taking CRH vs. flying.

If you have luggage, it's brutal. Long walk on platform, sometimes escalator doesn't work, and you face a zoo at exit, and crowded taxi stand. Also, public transportation isn't viable when you carry stuff.

Much more pleasant at airport, even if you have to deal with security.

Price: biz class on CRH is expensive at 950Y. I am still able to find 750Y SHA-PEK fare, if I work hard enough. If discounted fares disappear and you have to buy 80% Y fare, I often find discounted first class fare at full Y.

On top of that, you get lounges if you fly CA and you are * Gold or if you fly F.

Flight delay is a major problem, but CRH also has delays ....

Overall, I would fly SHA-PEK instead of take CRH. However, if it's Suzhou-Taishan, e.g. two cities between SHA and PEK then I take CRH since it adds costs and time to go to airports.

mnredfox

CZ's W class is great. I'm amazed how on so many flights CZ can sell them out too. But if you don't have a W ticket and are STE, often you can talk your way into such seat at checkin. ^

moondog

Hmmm.

While the thought of enduring a 4 hour delay on the train sends shivers up my spine, I have to think that the MOR will get these kinks worked out in short order... trains are usually reliable.

We're in the middle of thunder storm season. Trains are unaffected by the same thunder storms that bring ATC to a standstill. Since PEK is operating at daytime capacity, any bad weather at all can really mess things up.

I gather you have yet to experience a 2.5 hour delay at a remote stand in Shenzhen during the hottest time of the year.

All that having been said, I remain open to the possibility that economy class on the train could be miserable. I will surely provide a mini trip report on Monday night.

I'm also *G, but you'll rarely see me in lounges because I try to get to the airport as close to the cut off as possible; door to door times for PEK-SHA average about 6 hours even with this approach, and I don't fancy making it 7.

I would trade cute flight attendants for reliable service in a heartbeat.

kb1992

Yes I did. 4 hr delay at SZX, but I hide myself in *A lounge, doing emails and having drinks, food etc.

ATC delay at PEK: I have been lucky so far. Still, making myself comfortable at airport lounge surely beats 1 hour CRH delay with 90F temperature inside the car.