High Speed Rail: Xi'an - Beijing
 

My first trip report! A journey from Xi'an to Beijing by...rail!
In fact, taking the bullet train was recommended to me by the folks of the China forum as it would be an equally long trip taking either the train or plane, but not counting the possible delays out of Xi'an airport due to weather and the time to get to the airport (1h+).

The day before, I arranged for taxi service from my Xi'an hotel (Ramada Bell Tower) to Xi'an North Station where my train (G654) would depart at 8.52 AM. The taxi service was rather expensive at 100 yuan and took about 30 minutes.
Xi'an North Station is located well outside the city center, almost in the middle of nowhere. It is a modern building reminiscent of a large airport terminal. The hall is huge and rather chilly. Glad I was wearing a jacket.


At the back of the hall there was an area blocked off for use as "business lounge" but it did not appeal too much to me.


About 30 minutes before departure, I walked to the entrace gate to the platform where my train to Beijing would depart from. There were already a few people waiting and I decided to stick around as well. Good idea as the line became rather long the closer to departure.


About 10 minutes before departure, the gate was opened and two gate agents were inspecting the train tickets or helping disabled people in wheelchairs getting to the train. If you wanted, you could also manually enter your ticket in the electronic gate.
Taking the escalator down, the train was waiting at the platform with several train attendants on the platform helping people with their bags and finding the right coach section.

In first class, seats were two abreast with soft cushions, tray tables in the arm rests and plenty of recline. Somewhat similar to a US domestic first class product.


There was plenty of leg room for a tall guy like me (6'2").


If needed, there was an electrical outlet near the floor at the back of the seat in front of you. I thought the placement of the outlet was somewhat inconvenient as it means you need to run your cable along the length of your legs to your laptop or iPad which means you or the passenger seated next to you might trip over it.


There is overhead space for carry-on bags, while large bags can be stored in a closet near the entrance doors to the carriage.


Soon after departure, we were served a snack box that looked very healthy and promising...


... but contained just some crackers, spicy raisins and some bread.


Around lunch time, I got another one of these snack boxes for free although I am not sure if that was a mistake. Beforehand, I was under the impression that you only get served once.

The train ride itself was rather unremarkable. For about 5 and a half hours we passed mostly grasslands shrouded in mist and grey clouds due to severe pollution that day. Also, the first class section was rather empty leaving from Xi'an until the first few stops along the way. However, closer to Beijing almost all seats were taken.
After arriving in Beijing West train station, I walked to Taxi cue #3 and waiting for about an hour in line until a taxi showed up to take me to my hotel.

Excited to try this next month

Nice CRH report. :)

Those are quite nice seats too but the older first class benches on the Shinkansen based CRH are not bad either.

As for food, better get a takeaway breakfast from your hotel or somewhere along the way. Food sold at Chinese train stations or trains is not just dreadful but might be even harmful to your body...

Very slick looking product.

Thanks for the pics.

Excellent reports

I was wondering do they have the same train if I want to take from Xi'an to Shenzhen?

Do you know the price differential (and time) to the plane? How much more was 1st class above "coach"? Did you get any pics of the coach seats?

X'ian is pretty special with the warriors etc. Is the man who found them still there?

Thanks for your interesting report.

I did not venture into 2nd class, so I don't have any pix of that.
The price difference between 1st and 2nd class is about 300 yuan. The plane ticket was about the same price as the 2nd class seat (around 500 yuan).

Generally, the price difference from 1st to 2nd is worth it. 2nd is in a 3-2 seating arrangement and you could find yourself stuck in a middle!

Yeah, I've done that and it is worse than 10 abreast on the 777. It is certainly worth the upgrade, since seats are not selectable at purchase. Not worth risking a middle!

Nice TR, but waiting one hour for a taxi???? Wasn't it possible to walk around for 5 minutes and grab a taxi somewhere else on the streets?

I've had the same problem at Tianjin West and South, where (at least initially) local corruption limited the taxis to one company. Lines galore.

Beijing South is actually a very nice transit hub, though.