Train Question - Deluxe Two-Berth sleeper car worth it?
 

Does anyone have any experience taking the overnight train from Beijing to Xi'An? or even experience with the two-berth sleepers?

There are two of us traveling together (a couple) and we are considering upgrading to this sort of travel by train.

Is it worth the extra cost? I've heard that you even get your own private bathroom? Part of me thinks it would be nice not to have to worry about listening to other snorers on the train journey.

Absolutely, it's worth upgrading for 2 people traveling together, whenever available. The private bath, and extra privacy, storage space, are much appreciated. Even on the older type of deluxe soft-sleeper without private bath, they're also worth getting since there are half as many people in the car sharing the bathrooms, and that both berths are lower.

Is it generally difficult to book these 2 berth cabins? How far in advance should I do so?

There's a restriction on how early you can book on pretty much every domestic train. I think 4 days in advance is the maximum now.

What is the cost difference?

About double, which makes sense as each car carries about half the number of passengers. For Beijing-Xian on the T75, regular soft-sleeper is RMB400/417. Deluxe is 710/740. On the Z19 or T43, regular is 424/442; deluxe 782/816. First price is upper berth, second lower.

The price difference, I believe, is due to different routing. T75 takes the shorter route of 1,200km via Zhengzhou. Z19/T43 takes a 1,275km routing via Taiyuan.

On the Hong Kong-Beijing/Shanghai routes, the difference is smaller. Current discount fare for one-way HK-Beijing is HK$1072 for deluxe, HK$841 for regular.

Should open up ticket sales 10 days out, no need for ID to get tickets
as its not a bullet train. As far as availability, depends on if its around
a peak travel time.

On routes where deluxe sleepers exist, they are usually the last of the sleepers to sell out due to high price. Most Chinese willing to pay this sort of price would opt for flight instead. This means that except at holiday times, deluxe soft sleepers are more likely to be available at last minute or 1-2 days before travel, compared to regular soft sleepers or hard sleepers. Usually 3-5 days ahead is fairly reliable to snag a deluxe soft.

Awesome information, thanks.

Is it better to ask my hotel to book these or to go to the train station directly.

I do not know or speak any of the native languages spoken in china.

Hotel shouldn't charge too much service fee. Probably taxi
to and from train station would be more than their fee.

Depends on your schedule, if you're in the train station area
you can get the tickets with no mandarin speaking ability
pretty easilyy.

Get the hotel to do it, usually the fee is easily justified as your own time is more valuable. If you must buy something yourself, have somebody write down in Chinese the particulars of what you want so you can show the ticket seller, and also direct you to the nearest remote ticket office (every city has numerous train ticket offices so you don't have to endure the madhouse of the train station ticket windows).

This video shows the deluxe sleeper for that route.
Definately nicer than the 4 berth.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MCourt76#p/u/8/_RU_rb9UIrw

But not worth double the cost if you ask me. From my limited overnight train riding in China, my vote is that 4 person berth is sufficient. It already prices out the riff raff.

If it's just one person traveling, then a regular soft-sleeper is fine. But for two people traveling, having a deluxe cabin can actually make the ride an enjoyable and/or memorable experience, and not just basic transportation between two cities. In my opinion, that's worth the extra cost.

I think you bring up a good point, and the larger issue of what one's criteria is. If it's about saving cost, then I think 4 is fine. If looking for the more memorable experience I agree with your reasoning. Then again, if memorable is meeting locals on the train, a 2 person isn't the way to go.