Passenger Rail Transport In China

Passenger rail transport is one of the principal means of transport in the People's Republic of China, with rail passenger traffic exceeding 1.86 billion railway trips in 2011. It is operated by the China Railway Corporation (CR). The Spring Festival Travel Season is the peak railway travel season of the year.

Passenger train classes and route identifiers

Every train route has an identification number of two to five characters arranged by the Ministry of Railways. The first character can be alphabetic or numeric, while the second to fifth characters are all numeric.

Trains are classified as either ''up'' (even-numbered) trains or ''down'' (odd-numbered) trains. Since the capital Beijing is treated as the focal point of the rail network, trains from Beijing are ''down'' services (e.g. the T109 from Beijing to Shanghai), while trains towards Beijing are ''up'' services (e.g. the T110 from Shanghai to Beijing).

Trains that do not go either to or from Beijing are similarly designated up or down based on whether the railway they are traveling on would eventually lead them away from or towards Beijing. For example, the Z90 from Guangzhou to Shijiazhuang is an up service as it travels from Guangzhou in the direction of Beijing, but terminates in Shijiazhuang before reaching the capital.

Some longer routes change from being an ''up service'' to a ''down service'', or vice versa, mid-route, with more than one reversal being possible on the same route. In this case, the train would have two designations. For example, the G1202 and G1205 both refer to the same train from Harbin to Shanghai. From Harbin as far as Tianjin West Railway Station, the service is the G1202 ''up service'' traveling in the "up-direction" of the Beijing–Harbin High-Speed Railway towards Beijing, but after Tianjin West the train begins traveling away from Beijing down the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway to Harbin, which also switches at Tianjin West.

The Z31/Z34 from Wuchang to Ningbo is a more complicated example. It starts as the Z31 ''down service'' from Wuchang to Zhuji, traveling away from Beijing. At Zhuji, it becomes the Z34 ''up service'' towards Beijing. However, one stop later at Shaoxing, it reverts to being the Z31.

Types

The preceding letter of route identifier indicates the type of the passenger train, often determined by the speed and the stop patterns.

Types since 2015:

CRH trains

The high-speed rail (HSR, ) network in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the world's longest and most extensively used. The HSR network encompasses newly built rail lines with a design speed of 200–380 km/h (120–240 mph). China's HSR accounts for two-thirds of the world's total high-speed railway networks. Almost all HSR trains, track and service are owned and operated by the China Railway Corporation under the brand China Railway High-speed (CRH).

G ("Gaosu Dongche", 高速动车; High Speed EMU Train)

G trains is a series for long-distance high-speed trains. These are generally the fastest services available and the top speed can be up to but travel around operationally. As such they generally serve only lines capable of such speeds. G1–G5998 is used for the trains that run in more than one railway bureau's territory, while G6001–G9998 is used for the trains that run in only one railway bureau's territory. G trains never run overnight and thus have no sleeper car.

D ("Dongche", 动车; EMU Train)

This series has become available after the sixth rise in speed of the railway on April 18, 2007. The top speed will be up to 250–200 km/h but are limited to 250 km/h operationally. These trains are powered using CRH series electric multiple units (EMUs) named "Harmony" (Chinese:和谐号, Hexiehao). D1–D3998 for the trains running through two or more railway bureaus, D4001–D9998 for the trains running within one railway bureau. "D" services can run on high-speed lines, upgraded conventional lines or even over conventional railways at conventional speeds for a portion of their journey to connect some cities off the high-speed network.

D-series trains provide relatively fast frequent service between main cities in China. For example:
* Beijing–Shijiazhuang (2 hours travel time), Taiyuan (3 hours travel time), Handan (3–3.5 hours travel time), Zhengzhou (5 hours travel time).
* Xiamen–Shenzhen (3.5 hour travel time)
* Shanghai–Nanjing (2 hours travel time), Hangzhou (1.5 hours travel time), some continuing to destinations beyond such as Zhengzhou and Hankou.
Besides, a few other nighttime D trains go to more remote destinations, such as the services between Shanghai and Beijing.

C ("Chengji Dongche", 城际动车; Intercity EMU Train)

This series has become available after August 1, 2008 with the opening of Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail. It represents the EMU trains within a metropolitan region, and mainly running within one railway bureau. The top speed is 350 km/h (e.g. Beijing-Tianjin) but most operate from 200 to 160 km/h. C1–C1998 for the trains running through two or more railway bureaus, C2001–C9998 for the trains running within one railway bureau. Some of these services run more as commuter trains to/from satellite cities surrounding major urban centres or from downtown to the airport, as at Lanzhou.

Classic Rail trains

The Classic Rail network (), also known as conventional rail, forms the backbone of China’s railway system alongside the high-speed rail (HSR) network. These traditional railway lines operate at speeds below 160 km/h (99 mph) and serve a dual role in transporting both passengers and freight. Unlike the high-speed CRH (China Railway High-speed) services, which primarily use dedicated electrified tracks, Classic Rail consists of older lines that may be single or double-tracked, with varying degrees of electrification.

Historically, all Classic Rail trains were olive-green, leading to the nickname " green train" () to be used by laypeople. Since 2014, most Classic Rail trains that had other colours (white, red, blue) have been repainted olive-green. Classic Rail trains are also sometimes referred to as "slow trains" in English.

Classic Rail trains have significantly lower ticket prices compared to CRH trains and are a popular choice with travellers on a budget.

D ("Dongche", 动车; Electric Multiple Units)

The 'D' trains,currently operating on China's classic railway lines, unlike those running on high-speed rail, have an operational speed of 160 km/h rather than 200-250 km/h (the yet-to-be-procured CR220J will operate at 200 km/h). They feature passenger car interiors largely similar to high-speed trains, along with newly designed second-class sleeper interiors and first-class sleepers whose design is adapted from high-speed sleeper trains.

These D-series trains on classic railways are designed to replace the existing Z-series trains and may potentially replace the T-series trains in the future.

D-series trains on classic railways are operated by the CR200J Fuxing electric multiple units, which utilize a centralized power configuration.

Z ("Zhida", 直达; Non-Stop Express)

'Z' trains, though their name in Chinese ( zh, s=直达, p=Zhídá, links=no) technically implies a "non-stop" overnight train, some of these trains have several stops between the two stations. The majority have both soft sleepers and hard sleepers, while some Z trains have only soft sleepers. The top speed is 160 km/h. It uses the numbers Z1-Z9998 without regard to the number of railway bureaus entered.

This series became available after the fifth rise in speed of the railway on April 18, 2004.
Early on (2004–2006), all but one of the Z-series trains had either Beijing or Beijing West station as their destination or origin. As of 2009, Z-series trains also operated along the Yangtze Valley as well, providing overnight service from Wuhan to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shenzhen.

Z-series trains are typically served by the 25T train coaches, which have a top speed of 160 km/h.

T ("Tekuai", 特快; Express)

This series of trains have a limited number of stops along their routes, only in major cities, or in some instances stops for switching the driver or locomotive. The top speed is 140 km/h. T1–T4998 for the trains running through two or more railway bureaus, T5001–T9998 for the trains running within one railway bureau. The standard pronunciation on the railway system is "Te"() in Chinese.

T-series trains are typically served by the 25K train coaches, which have a top speed of 140 km/h.

K ("Kuaisu", 快速; Fast)

This series of trains stop at more stations than T-series. The top speed is 120 km/h. The standard pronunciation on the railway system is "Kuai"() in Chinese. K1–K6998 are used for the trains that run in more than one railway bureau, while K7001 to K9998 will be used for the trains that run in only one railway bureau.

After April 18, 2004, N-series trains, which represent fast trains travelling exclusively within one railway bureau, were derived from K-series. Then all K-series trains travel on lines operated by more than one railway bureau. After April 1, 2009, N-series was re-merged to K-series after April 1, 2009.

K-series trains are typically served by the 25G train coaches, which have a top speed of 120 km/h.

General Fast Train

''General fast trains'' (, which can be shortened to , ') are slower passenger trains that stop at around half of the stations along the way, resulting in a longer travel time than the fast trains. The top speed is 120 km/h. Route numbers are always four numeric digits—a numeric prefix from 1-5 followed by a 3-digit route number. Numbers 1001–1998 for the trains running through three or more railway bureaus, 2001–3998 for the trains running through two railway bureaus, and 4001–5998 for the trains that run in only one railway bureau.

General Train

The ''general train'' (, which can be shortened to , ') has as many stops as possible, and is often the preferred choice for rural workers to visit their home villages because of low ticket price. This is the slowest type of train and has the lowest priority in the Fixed Train Timetable (). The top speed is 100 km/h. These trains are often the only available transportation in rural area lacking highway infrastructures, but is gradually being phased out in favour of faster trains.

Route identifiers for general trains are always 4 digits—a numeric prefix from 6-7 followed by a 3-digit route number. 6001–6198 are used for the trains that run in more than one railway bureau, while 7001–7598 will be used for the trains that run in only one railway bureau.

Commuter Train

The commuter train is usually runs for railway staff to commute or consult their doctor, but also takes their children to school and brings them back in some areas. Generally tickets for such a kind of train are not available for passengers. Route identifiers for commuter trains are 4 digits with a range of 7601–8998.

Temporary Train

The "L" trains are temporary — they are not listed in the official train schedule, but are added when necessary. Many of these trains only operate at peak passenger travel season such as during the spring festival travel season. In addition, many new train services are originally added as L-series before train schedules are readjusted and later become regular services. L1–L6998 are used for the temporary trains that run in more than one railway bureau, while L7001–L9998 will be used for the trains that run in only one railway bureau. Recently the type was merged into other types for more kinds of temporary services (e.g. Temporary Limited Express).

Y ("Linshilüyou", 临时旅游; Temporary Tourist Train)

This series is used for trains that specifically run for tourism. Only very few trains begin with Y. Besides, travel agencies can apply to the Railways Department for organizing additional passenger trains for the tours.

S ("Shijiao", 市郊; Suburban Commuter Rail)

This is a newer class developed to utilize idle tracks (mostly industrial or former industrial) to provide commuter travel to larger city centers from its suburban areas. Existing service until 2015 are S2 line from Yanqing County to Beijing, and Tianjin–Jixian Railway from Ji County to Tianjin. The Jinshan Railway from Jinshan County to Shanghai also fell in this category, but it is fully embedded in Shanghai Metro lines therefore tickets are not available on CR's website; while the other two offers more conventional service.

Former Types

Types by 2004:

Types during 2004 – 2009:

As the ''Rule of The Edit and Management of Train Timetable'', a rule issued by Ministry of Railway, the arrangement of following passenger train classes was put into practice from April 1, 2009.

Types during 2009 – 2015:

Accommodation and fares

CRH train

* Business Class Seat ( zh, c=商务座, p=shāngwù zuò, links=no), on a few services pending on train type, such as the CRH380AL or CRH380BL trains. 3 seats per row (2+1). Lie-flat seats with airline style catering provided. The newer Fuxing trains, such as the Fuxing CR400AF and the CR400BF trains. the CR400BF-Z has a newly updated interior, with new privacy centered business class seats, with a sliding door, and a 1+1 layout. The CR400AF-Z has a similarly updated Business Class seat, but without a sliding door. These are also in the updated 1+1 layout.
* Premier Class Seat ( zh, c=特等座, p=tèděng zuò, links=no), can vary, pending on train type, from being similar to Business Class style seats or First Class seats located in premier or sightseeing positions such as behind the drivers cab. 3 seats per row (2+1) or compartment seats. Unlike Business Class seats, these seats are not lie-flat seats, but can in general recline. They are rare, with most trains having Business Class Steats.
* First Class Seat ( zh, c=一等座, p=Yīděngzuò, links=no), used for CRH series EMU trains. There are 4 seats per row (2+2), just similar as soft seat. They offer more legroom and space than the second class seats.
* Second Class Seat ( zh, c=二等座, p=èrděngzuò, links=no), used for CRH series EMU trains. Similar as hard seat, there are 5 seats per row (3+2), the sitting area is relatively small.
* Soft sleeper, used for CRH series EMU trains. Found on only a few 'D' trains running overnight between Shanghai-Beijing or Beijing-Shenzhen. Similar as a soft sleeper on conventional trains but are limited to 4 berths to a compartment. Some upper berths can fold away to permit running purely as seated passengers.

File:Car 1 business class interior of CR400BF-GZ-5143 (20210625091640).jpg, Business class
( CR400BF-Z series)
File:Car 1 business class interior of CR400AF-Z-2276 (2023042143014).jpg, Business class
( CR400AF-Z series)
File:Business class interior of CR400AF-2012 (20180223175131).jpg, Business class
( CR400AF)
File:First class interior of CR400BF-C-5162 (20220109141955).jpg, First class
( CR400BF-C)
File:Car 5 interior of CR400BF-GZ-5205 (20220111150140).jpg, Second class
( CR400BF-Z series)
File:CRH1-Compartment.jpg, Second Class Seat
( CRH1A EMU)

Classic Rail train

* Hard seat ( zh, c=硬座, p=Yìngzuò, links=no) is the basic fare, somewhat similar to the economy class on an airplane. On busier routes, passengers who cannot arrange for better seats because of overcrowding must also purchase this type of ticket. In some cases, tickets are sold with no seat assigned (无座, ''wú zuò''), which allows the railway to sell more tickets than there are seats in the car. Still, even the number of "no seat" tickets offered for sale is limited, to keep overcrowding within limits.
* Soft seat ( zh, c=软座, p=Ruǎnzuò, links=no) is one level above the Hard Seat. There are 4 seats per row (2+2), so it has comfortable seating similar to business class on airplanes.
* Hard sleeper ( zh, c=硬卧, p=Yìngwò, links=no) is the basic accommodation for an overnight train. Despite the name, the bunks comfortably accommodate anyone below six feet. Bunks are arranged three on a side in a compartment—indicated by top, middle and bottom on the ticket. There are no doors for the compartments.
* Soft sleeper ( zh, c=软卧, p=Ruǎnwò, links=no) contains a wider bunk bed in an enclosed cabin, two bunks to a side. There is more room for luggage storage than in hard sleeper. Occasionally there may be an entertainment system where movie channels are available for viewing through headphones and an LCD display for each bunk.
* Luxury sleeper ( zh, c=高级软卧包厢, p=Gāojí Ruǎnwò, links=no or zh, c=高包, p=Gāobāo, links=no) is the top level sleeper that is only provided by a few trains. The ticket is also much more expensive than that of soft sleeper. It only contains two beds in a cabin, and there is an independent toilet in every cabin. Some of them have a shower cubicle in the car.

Common to CRH and Classic Rail trains are standing tickets which do not include a seat and require the traveler to stand for the duration of the trip. This can lead to extreme overcrowding during busy travel seasons. Ticket holders are assigned to a carriage, typically only the hard seat or second-class seat carriage, and are not permitted to enter the soft seat or sleeper carriages. On high-speed trains, fewer standing tickets are available and limited to entry vestibules and café cars. Small folding seats are often sold in rail stations and from onboard vendors for standing ticket holders to sit in aisles.

The fares are different between trains with or without air-conditioning.

File:YZ22B 200908.JPG, Hard seat (non air-conditioned)
File:Interior of YZ25K 348151 (20150630113421).JPG, Hard seat (air-conditioned)
File:Interior of RZ25T 111061 (20160525090258).jpg, Soft seat
File:T99 100 Soft Sleeper Car.jpg, Soft sleeper
File:Compartment of RW25T 553672 (20230720211127).jpg, Soft sleeper compartment
File:T99 100 Hard Sleeper Car.jpg, Hard sleeper (semi-compartment)
File:Interior of YW25K 670074 (20231007163901).jpg, Hard sleeper (open)
File:Compartment 6 of RW19K 553901 (20231102215859).jpg, Deluxe sleeper



The majority of train tickets in China are thermally printed paper tickets displaying the train's origin and destination, service number, price, date and travel time, accommodation type, class and seat number, as well as a barcode for security checks. Some tickets on the CRH routes such as Nanjing–Shanghai–Hangzhou or Guangzhou–Shenzhen use machine-readable tickets i.e. tickets on the Nanjing–Shanghai route have a magnetically encoded stripe for future use of automatic ticket inspection gates being implemented at major stations along the route, whilst tickets on the Guangzhou–Shenzhen line have embedded RFID microchips which can be read by proximity readers mounted above the ticket gates.

Most trains feature some kind of on-board catering service. Vendors with trolleys walk through the train selling snacks, drinks, fruit, newspapers etc. On shorter distance trains and many high-speed trains, there is a cafe-car selling light snacks, tea, coffee, beer etc. whilst conventional long-haul trains have full-service restaurant cars. At many stations along the route, vendors will sell fruit, prepared food and instant noodles on the platforms during the stops for Classic Rail trains. Hot-water is provided in almost every carriage for passengers to make tea or instant noodles.

Smoking is generally not permitted in the accommodation or washroom areas of the trains but is allowed in the restaurant/cafe area and in the vestibules between the cars. On modern trains such as CRH or Beijing Suburban railway smoking is completely banned, with some smoke detectors connected to the brakes to stop the train, causing errant smokers facing hefty fines and penalties. On the Guangzhou–Kowloon cross-border train smoking is only permitted in the cafe car.

E-tickets and Internet ticket purchase

Since July 12, 2011, the e-ticket system has been firstly adopted on Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway. Since December 23, 2011, all tickets can be bought at the official ticket website (12306.cn).

Debit card and credit cards with the China UnionPay icon, Alipay, and WeChat Pay are accepted on 12306.cn.

Identification of one of the following types is required:
* Chinese Resident Identity Card (2nd generation)
* Home Return Permit Hong Kong & Macau Resident to Mainland Permit or Mainland Resident to Hong Kong & Macau Permit
* Taiwan Resident to Mainland Permit or Mainland Resident to Taiwan Permit
* Chinese Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card
* Valid passport

Check-in

E-tickets

Since 2020, all China Railway tickets are electronic, and are sold either online at 12306.cn (or the Railway 12306 app) or offline at ticket machines or ticket counters using the internal Ticketing and Reservation System (TRS). Only the original ID document (or a temporary ID document issued by police) is valid for travel. A dynamic e-ticket QR code app in the Railway 12306 mobile app may also be used in conjunction with the ID document. Tickets are not transferrable.

Chinese Resident Identity cards are tapped on faregates before boarding and before exiting the station upon arrival. Some faregates may have an optical scanner for passports and a QR code scanner for the QR code in the Railway 12306 app. All identity documents can be used at the staffed gate located at one end of the gateline.

Changes and refunds

Changes to online bookings can be made any time before departure and on the same day after departure. A ticket can only be changed once.

Refunds can be done only before departure. After departure, tickets cannot be refunded.

Fees may apply.

Cross-border trains

To Hong Kong (Kowloon) (Terminated)

Before 30 Jan 2020, intercity through train services are available between Kowloon ( Hung Hom station) and Beijing West, Shanghai, and Guangzhou East. Passengers have to pass departure immigration at departure station and arrival immigration at arrival station, and boarding and alighting at intermediate stations are not allowed for cross-border passengers.

For Beijing/Shanghai to Kowloon routes, additional carriages are attached in the section between Beijing/Shanghai and Guangzhou East for domestic passengers, where boarding and alighting is allowed at intermediate stations. Tickets cannot be booked through the CR website.

The intercity Through Train services was suspended since 30 Jan 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic. The Guangzhou-Kowloon route has replaced by G-series trains between Guangzhou East and West Kowloon, while the Beijing/Shanghai to Kowloon routes are officially replaced by the EMU sleeper trains which are departing from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station since 15 Jun 2024.

To Hong Kong (West Kowloon via Guangshengang XRL)

Through High-speed services are available since 2018 between West Kowloon and Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities in mainland China like Shanghai, Xiamen, Guiyang and Beijing. Passengers have to pass immigrations in West Kowloon station, and those trains also serve as normal high-speed trains in mainland China. Sections operated by CR (from other stations in mainland China to Shenzhen Futian) and MTR (West Kowloon to Shenzhen Futian) have different pricing policies, making the cross-border section one of the most expensive in China. Tickets can be booked through the Internet.

International passenger trains

A few trains can transport passengers out of China to places such as Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Moscow in Russia, Almaty in Kazakhstan, P'yŏngyang in North Korea, Hanoi in Vietnam，Vientiane in Laos and so on. Tickets can only be bought through travel agents near the departure station. While other International passenger trains are all numbers, K or Z type conventional trains, train between Kunming South railway station and Vientiane railway station is the only International passenger train as D type multiple-unit train.

See also

* Coach yard
* List of tram and light rail transit systems
* List of town tramway systems in Asia
* List of rapid transit systems
* List of trolleybus systems
* Urban rail transit in China

References

External links

*

Official Ticket Website
(Serving Time: 6:00-23:00 Beijing Time)

Individual passenger route maps of China Rail
viewed in Open Maps with timetable (English & Chinese in map items)
Passenger train information online

Checking Train Schedules Online

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