Agree very much, exactly what I did on my last train ride from Hangzhou to Jinan - KFC.

Yes it is confusing. Maybe on purpose..."I don't travel first class".

Then it wouldn't be something China-specific

The few times where there is a third, better than 1st class on train, I've always seen it marketed as "Business"

The Austrian Railways, which also have a better class above 1st class call it - TADA - Business class as well

http://www.oebb.at/en/leistungen-und...komfortklassen

I think this has partially to do with international tickets and contracts (less so in the case of China, but probably also influenced by it) - train operators sell 2nd and 1st class tickets over various channels, they couldn't rename them to 3rd/2nd class suddenly.

After all, the 2nd class on a HSR otherwise being named "3rd class" would still be the same than a train having only two classes "2nd" class.

Only if EVERY train would have three classes, they could call it 1st/2nd/3rd, like it used to be long time ago in Europe (when they stopped 1st class service, 2nd became 1st, 3rd become 2nd)

So, if you've a product that is more a "niche" rather than a company-wide rolled out product, it does make sense not to rename all products.

Otherwise suddenly there would be plenty of trains sporting only 2nd and 3rd class waggons - don't tell me that wouldn't be irritating..

People booking "Business Class" on HSR know well what kind of product they're getting and that it's superior to 1st class (since it's more expensive, it's just logical anyway )

I am sufficiently nerdy to retain data on my trips, and following are my insights wrt Shanghai-Beijing

-train is 6 hours, door-to-door, every time (as long as you don't avail of a 3-digit train)
-plane is 4.5 hours, door-to-door, when the stars are perfectly aligned
-this gives us a 1.5 hour delay cushion, which is pretty much the average during July and August, but during other months 45 minutes is more typical
-I'm cool with 2 hour delays because I've found decent places to hang out in both SHA and PEK
-5+ hour delays are a different story, though; they are hard to predict, but do occur
-@YuropFlyer: you mentioned PVG being inconvenient upthread, and of course this is true, but there is no reason to fly to/from there when Beijing is the endpoint; Hongqiao Station is in the same building as Hongqiao T2
-wrt the business/first/second class topic that often pops up in threads here, can we not simply put this issue to rest?

This is a good point - can you help me understand what the steps are to pick up a ticket (maybe bought from ctrip) for a foreigner/english speaker? Is this a difficult/time consuming process? Any tips/tricks?

Ctrip will give you a confirmation number. You take that number with your passport to the ticket window for picking up online tickets. (In smaller stations there may not be a special window set aside for this.) If you go to the wrong window, no doubt you'll be pointed to the right one.

Two caveats. Your actual passport number must match the number in the ticketing system; no match no ticket. Second, I believe ticket issuance stops some time before departure, and the computer just won't spit out the ticket after that. But I think the cutoff point may vary by station in China.

Watch this video. As you can see, it is very simple:

Excellent, thanks!

Do the train ticket prices fluctuate like with airfare or am I safe to book now for September?

Train ticket prices are fixed. I thought you can only buy a relatively limited time in advance, though.

On Ctrip Shanghai Beijing
today you can purchase tickets up to and including Sept 3.


http://english.ctrip.com/trains/?All...FYNsfgodCpsFAw

Yes, but while the train fares are fixed, I bought 2nd class high speed rail Beijing South to Jinan West tickets from RMB125 to RMB195 this year

Actually, HSR fares do float at times.

http://news.jkwrb.com/fgzsj/8873.html (in Chinese)

For us local's choice, you only take the flight in one of the fowling situation:
1. need to be there very early, flight could get you there around 10am, first train arrive after 12
2. need to leave really late, last flight is later than last train
3. company policy or for mileage.

Time wise, there will be about the same. So for leisure travelling mid day, either choice is fine. Train will be better if you've got kids, they could be free depending on age to start with, secondly, there are space for them to run around.

Experience wise, train is good as you could take flights anywhere else, but only china's got the most advance bullet train network.

service wise, J or F service between PVG & PEK are far better than any other domestic chinese route.

If you do have big luggage, then i guess fly will be easier as you do not need to carry the luggage through security, down all the stairs, on to the shelf that is not big enough for check in luggage.

I think some online agency may be able to pick up tickets for their ticketed travelers, but I never did that. So I am not sure.

There are a few points about picking up tickets:
* Travel doc/ID information must be an exact match as you mention.
* Must have confirmation number(s) ready.
* Some stations have a separate room to pick up tickets before entering the "real" station area. Some stations pickup areas are in the "real" station area but require the passengers to pick up tickets before entering security check. There are also stations that passengers can clear security before getting tickets.
* Passport holders must pick up from counter windows, and the lines can be long (from almost no wait time to an hour).
* If passengers like to pick up multiple tickets to avoid waiting in lines again, they can do that with a fee for each subsequent ticket.

For this route, prices are fixed. Tickets go on sale 60 days ahead.
The rail company is currently experimenting with fluctuating prices (based on demand) for d overnight trains between Guangzhou or Shenzhen and Beijing or Shanghai.