China Railway

The obvious reasons for railway development are mainly due to its low transportation cost, large carrying capacity and less energy consumption. It is a good choice for both passengers traveling between cities and traders transporting goods over long and medium distance.

Compared with some new and high-tech industries in the computer, communication and biology fields, China railway is rather traditional with more than a century old development. It is the backbone of China's national economy. China Railway has 12 trunk lines, stretching from north to south and connecting east to west.

A typical train station is usually made up of a large square outside the station, around which stand many hotels, convenient stores (vendor stands) and small restaurants catering travelers with food, drinks, magazines and telephone services. There are often bus stops and coach stations nearby. There are several service levels being offered to travelers on the train, depending on the class one travels in for one may have cold or hot water service, air-conditioned or without and the number of passengers in a carriage.

There are attendants in every carriage on the train and they are responsible for the cleanliness, safety and order of passengers on the train. They also sell bottled drinks (like orange juice, mineral water and Coca Cola), snacks (like melon seeds, peanuts, currants and biscuits) and fruits (like apple, banana, pear and orange) at times. Packed food and dishes are also sold during mealtime. However, passengers may choose to dine at the dining carriage, the location of which is usually at the middle section of the train. Wash rooms and hot water dispensers are usually located at the end of each carriage connecting to the next.

 How to Get on and off?
Once at the station, travelers would have their luggage checked in at the Check-In Counter. Once done, travelers will then proceed to the 'Waiting Room' to wait for the train. Train schedules are usually shown on a big electronic board at the main hall of the train station. One will have to look out for the relevant information to know which train to board at which platform and at what time. Get ready to board the train 20 to 30 minutes earlier as ticket inspectors will commence to check and punch passengers' tickets then. Once done, get onto the correct carriage of the train and look for the seat number, as shown on the ticket. On reaching the destination, just collect your luggage and alight from the train. Present the ticket to the inspector at the exit of the platform.

 Railway Ticket 

China Train Tickets Booking offered by warriortours.com.

Railway tickets are categorized into soft seat (RZ), hard seat (YZ) and sleeper tickets including soft sleeper (RW) and luxury soft sleeper, hard sleeper (YW) and hard sleeper cabin. Certain group of travelers may enjoy special price as follows: children less than 1.1 meter high travel free of charge, whereas those between 1.1 and 1.4 meter high enjoy half-price ticket; finally, those traveling in group of more than 20 entitles to a certain degree of discount.

Ticket can be bought at the station or can be booked in advance through a travel agent or any other authorized ticketing office.

Single journey tickets can be returned or changed 48 hours before the scheduled journey. A 20% administrative fee is imposed if returned. However, round-trip tickets, berth tickets and tickets not ending at the destinations (passengers must change other trains between the starting station and the terminal) cannot be changed or returned.

 Classification of the Letters before Train Numbers

The alphabet before the train number indicates class of train:

D: high-speed train-set (The highest speed reaches up to 200 even 250 kilometers per hour.)
Z: through express train
T: express train
K: fast train
N: local fast train
L, A: temporary train
Y: tourist train

Trains with numbers are common in China and they are divided into different categories.

Trains starting with number '1' are ordinary passenger express train or through train; for long distance trip and only stop at main stations.

Trains starting with number '2' are also named ordinary passenger express train or through train, but they are for medium distance trip and make many stops.

Trains starting with number '4, 5' are ordinary passenger express train; they are for short distance trip and stop at some main stations as well as some very small stations.

Trains starting with number '6, 7, 8, 9' are ordinary passenger train; they are for short distance trip and stop at all stations that allows them to stop.