China Railway - 中国铁路

China Railwayrefer toPeople's Republic of ChinaNational railway system. As of the end of 2015, China's railway operating mileage reached 120,000 kilometers, second only to the United States, and the high-speed railway mileage was 19,000 kilometers, exceeding the total mileage of other countries in the world. Cheap and trustworthy railway passenger transportation is one of the most important modes of transportation when traveling within China.

Railway travel can experience the beauty of nature and human engineering wisdom at the same time. Whether you like to travel slowly on the railway, enjoy the slow retreat of the mountains and villages outside the window, or you like the beauty of machinery, you like to use the camera to freeze bridges, tunnels, exhibition lines, locomotives, water signs, visit unknown stations, collect train tickets and platforms ticket. China has the world's second-largest railway network. It has both high-speed rail and modern transportation hubs, as well as classical railway stations, narrow-gauge railways, and even steam locomotives in operation. It is an endless treasure for railway travelers.

route

China's railway passenger service covers most cities, but many small stations have no passenger service after the speed of the railway has been increased, and they need to change to other means of transportation. High-speed railway mainly coversEast ChinaandCentral ChinawithnortheastIn some areas.

Schematic diagram of China's railway transportation. The blue line can run EMU trains with a speed of 300 km/h or more; the orange line can run EMU trains with a speed of 200 to 300 km/h; the green line is a line that has been electrified on the basis of ordinary railways, and can also run EMUs Group trains; gray lines are general lines.

Train type

The railway trains currently in operation in China can be divided into:

• G (high)-high-speed rail, running at a speed of more than 300 km/h.
• C (City)-Intercity, which can also reach 300 km/h, contacting cities that are close to each other.
• D (Dynamic)-EMU, running at a speed of 200~300 km/h.
• Z (direct)-direct, speed up to 160 km/h, fewer stops, generally only stops near the starting station and the terminal station.
• T (extra)-express, the speed can reach 160 km/h, but there are more stops, so the time is longer.
• K (fast)-fast, with a speed of up to 120 km/h, which is currently the largest type of passenger train in mainland China.
• Y (tour)-travel, the speed can also reach 120KM/H, generally used for tourism in the province.
• Trains with no letters and only four digits: ordinary trains, 1001 to 5999 are ordinary fast trains, and above 6001 are local trains that stop at all or most stations along the way.
• L (Pro)-Temporary, usually increased temporarily during peak periods such as the Spring Festival and November, the speed is slow, and the car is often given away. The main function is to send people to the destination, regardless of whether they are on time.

Generally speaking, for the same seat, the higher the operating speed of the train, the higher the ticket price.

Seats

China Railway is divided into different seats in the same train, and the fare of high-level seats is higher than that of low-level seats. It should be noted that not every train includes every seat.

EMU seats

EMUs (G, C, D) include the following seats, arranged from highest to lowest:

• Business seat: three seats in each row, the seat can be rotated, the backrest angle is adjustable, similar to the business class on an airplane
• Premium seats: three seats in each row, the seats can be rotated, the backrest angle can be adjusted, only in the front of some trains, the seats are the same as the first-class seats
• First-class seats: four seats in each row, the seat can be rotated, the backrest angle can be adjusted
• Second-class seats: five seats in each row, the seat can be rotated, the backrest angle can be adjusted, but please take into account the feelings of the passengers behind

Some EMU (D) trains that run at night also provide sleepers, which are more expensive than second-class seats. These trains sometimes sell tickets with sleeping berths instead of seats.

Regular train seats

Ordinary trains contain the following seats, arranged from highest to lowest:

• Superior soft bedroom (high package): two beds in each box, including sofa, wardrobe, independent bathroom (some with shower) and other facilities
• Soft sleeper: each box has four beds, divided into upper and lower bunks, including independent reading lights
• Hard sleeper: six beds in each partition space, divided into upper, middle and lower berths
• Soft seat: 4 positions in a row, some trains are divided into first and second class seats
• Hard seat: 5 positions in a row
• No seat: some trains will sell seatless tickets, the price is the same as the lowest fare

Sometimes, due to insufficient seats or increased vehicle utilization, some trains may sell tickets for substitute seats for sleeping berths.

Buy tickets

In China, railway tickets can be purchased at stations, or at ticket sales offices andRailway Customer Service CenterPurchased. Tickets purchased at stations and ticket agents are paper tickets, and those purchased at the railway customer service center are electronic tickets. If you need to exchange for paper tickets, you need to exchange them at the station or ticket agent. In addition to student tickets, ticket sales agents charge a handling fee of RMB 5 for ticket purchase and paper ticket exchange. China Railway tickets are real-name tickets, and you need to purchase tickets based on valid ID documents such as ID cards or passports.

Route planning

Before buying tickets,

In addition, there are some tips in route planning:

When China Railway sells tickets, more tickets are reserved for major stations. For example, if you start fromZhong XiangSet off, arrive by carHangzhou, There is only one class K530/1. If you find that Zhongxiang’s sleeper ticket to Hangzhou has been sold out that day when planning your itinerary, don’t feel disappointed, because it’s the same bus.Wuchang StationarriveHangzhouThe sleeper may still have tickets. If this is the case, as long as you have two valid documents, you can use one to buy a hard seat from Zhong Xiang to Wuchang and the other to buy a sleeper from Wuchang to Hangzhou. Therefore, if you often travel by train in China, it is best to take your passport to the train station for identity verification and verification as soon as possible, so that you can have two valid ticket purchase documents, an ID card and a passport, and can deal with some complicated situations.

Some green leather cars will pass the boarding and landing stations on the way, that is, stations that are unattended all year round. Generally speaking, the boarding and landing stations are set up to facilitate the commuting of local residents, but occasionally, travelers can also use them. For example, ifInner MongoliaChifeng CityTravel, go firstBalinzuoqiVisit the Liao Shangjing site and museum, and then goKeshiketeng Banner, I want to live in Hot Water Town to soak in hot springs at night. At this time, travelers can consider taking K898 times or 6038 times, from Lindong Station to Jingpeng Station, and then take a taxi or bus from Jingpeng Town to Shuei Town; or choose 6042 times from Lindong Station Sit directly to the Garadestai Station, which is a kind of embarkation and landing station. It should be noted that if a certain train will stop at the boarding and landing station, the timetable information can be queried on the 12306 website, but it is not possible to buy tickets with the boarding station as the starting or ending point. In the previous example, the correct approach should be to buy a ticket from Lindong Station to Linxi Station, and then contact the conductor after getting on the train to reissue the ticket for the remaining distance.

Ride

check-in

After booking a ticket online, you can pick up the ticket at the purchasing point or the station with the certificate used when purchasing the ticket. There is a fee of 5 ¥ for purchasing tickets, and student tickets are free. At stations, tickets can be collected at the manual ticket window, and some stations will also have a special ticket collection window; tickets purchased with a second-generation ID card can also be collected at the automatic ticket collection machine. The automatic ticket collection machine is generally located in the ticket hall. When picking up the ticket, first click "Internet pick up", swipe the second-generation ID card in the designated area (student tickets should also be swiped in the designated area for student discount cards), and then check the ticket to be picked up , Press "Print".

Most stations in big cities have been equipped with automatic ticket gates, so you don’t need paper tickets, you can just swipe your ID card and pass through the gate. However, some small stations that are not yet equipped with automatic ticket checking machines, or some stations that have particularly strict requirements for ticket inspection, still need to take out paper tickets in advance to pass manual inspection. Since the specific operating conditions of each station are different, it is better to take out the ticket in advance when boarding at an unfamiliar station.

In addition, if an ID card has booked more than ten tickets, the automatic ticket gate may be maxed out, and all ticket information will be shown as having been taken out. In this case, please report the situation to the station window immediately and restore the data. Although the probability of this kind of thing happening is very small, once it happens, it will easily cause a chain reaction and cause inconvenience to the whole trip. Therefore, when booking more tickets, it is best to reserve time, pick up tickets in advance, or go to manual Pick up tickets at the window.

Inspection and security

Before entering the waiting room, passengers must pass inspections and security checks. Inspection means checking whether the ticket, ticket purchase certificate and personal information are consistent. The second-generation ID card can display the information of the purchased ticket, so it can pass the inspection without having to pick up the ticket.

The security check is to carry out a security check of the carried luggage. In terms of prohibited and restricted items, it is important for travelers to pay attention to: bullets, including bullet crafts, empty cartridge cases that have no gunpowder, are not allowed to be carried on the car according to regulations; knives, bows, etc. purchased in some tourist areas Souvenirs are also forbidden; women’s anti-wolf sprays and anti-wolf electric shock devices can be used to endanger the personal safety of others, so they are not allowed to be carried in the car; items with pungent odors or strong peculiar smells are also not allowed. Animals are not allowed to be carried on the bus; except for guide dogs, the owner needs to bring the ID card, disabled person's certificate, and guide dog work permit used when purchasing the ticket (containing the information of the guide dog user and stamped with the official seal of the public security department or the Federation of the Disabled) , Or with the International Guide Dog Federation logo "IGDF") and animal health immunization certificate for inspection. Nail polish, hair dye, etc. shall not exceed 20ml, mousse, hair spray, insecticide, air freshener, etc. installed in a spray container shall not exceed 120ml, safety matches are limited to 2 small boxes, and ordinary lighters are limited to 2; per person; The items to be carried shall not exceed 20 kg, the sum of the length, width and height of each item shall not exceed 160 cm, and the rod-shaped items shall not exceed 200 cm (wheelchairs used by the elderly, the disabled, etc. are not counted).

Of course, in the actual operation process, security personnel may relax the standards. For example, the "Railway Safety Management Regulations" stipulates that ethanol (alcohol) must not be carried on the car, but in fact one or two bottles of normal-sized, unopened alcohol can pass the security check, and very few staff actually come to take the ruler. The sum of length, width and height included in the measurement. Generally speaking, train security inspections in Xinjiang are stricter. The security inspections at railway stations in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are relatively standard. The security inspections at small railway stations are more relaxed, and the inspections for items with relatively vague regulations are not so tight. In addition, in some special periods, the security check will be very strict. For example, during the Olympics, APEC, and the National People's Congress, tourists entering Beijing will be checked more than once. Don't be lucky at this time.

Waiting, ticket checking and boarding

Except for some very small railway stations, most stations have more than one ticket gate. The large screen in the station will scroll through the ticket gate/waiting hall corresponding to each train (in order of departure time); some tickets will also be marked. Old-fashioned railway stations are generally divided into multiple waiting rooms. Each waiting room is equipped with a canteen, toilets and several ticket gates. The new-style railway station has only one large waiting area, with ticket gates and shops on both sides in order.

There will be some shops in the waiting area. There are often Chinese and Western-style fast food chains, convenience stores, and some shops selling local famous and special products in major railway stations, and some also have bookstores. Some waiting areas will provide chargeable self-service chargers. There will also be small shops in small train stations, selling drinks, snacks, instant noodles, souvenirs, newspapers and books, etc. There may be one or two small restaurants.

The cleanliness of the toilets in the waiting area is usually inversely proportional to the time the station is put into use. The worse point is that these toilets are often regarded as informal smoking rooms, often filled with smoke. If you are very disgusted with the smell of smoke, you might as well put up with the train and then solve it (especially if you take an EMU train). Many train stations will provide free boiled water, usually located near the toilet.

Generally speaking, station staff will start checking tickets 15 minutes before driving, or even earlier if it is the departure station, and people often start queuing before ticket checking. The line is usually very long, accompanied by jumps and pushes. If you have arrived at the waiting hall before the ticket check-in, it is almost impossible to miss the train again, so there is no need to squeeze forward at the ticket gate eagerly. You might as well sit in a chair for a while and wait until most people pass. Check the ticket. Unless you have a lot of things with you, in that case, it's best to go in line early and quickly find a place to put your large luggage when there is no one on the train. If there are elderly, pregnant women, people with disabilities, or infants and young children in the travel group, you may wish to contact the staff before starting the ticket check. You can skip the step of queuing and get on the bus first.

Most small railway stations still use manual ticket checking. Large railway stations are basically equipped with automatic ticket gates. The method of use is similar to subway gates. After standing on the yellow line, insert the blue ticket into the ticket gate. After the gate is opened, get the ticket back and pass; passengers who have not picked up the ticket can change their identity Place the pass in the circular area on the machine, and pass after the gate is opened; if there is a problem, please return to the yellow line on the ground and try again. If you still make a mistake, you can contact the staff or go through the manual ticket gate. If you have a red ticket, you will not be able to pass through the automatic ticket gate, and you need to go through the manual ticket gate. Don't rush to collect the tickets after checking, because some trains—especially non-EMU trains—usually check whether the ticket and the carriage correspond to each other when getting on the train.

The closing time of the ticket gate will be earlier than the driving time on the ticket, generally 3 to 5 minutes in advance (regulations are different for each station), so don't have the "last minute" fluke, but allow enough time. Especially when taking a train at an unfamiliar station, try to arrive at the station as early as possible and wait for the train. The entire process of ticket collection, security check, and ticket inspection should usually be reserved for 20 minutes. In the event of holidays, weekends, Spring Festival travel, student holidays/returning to school, it is not an exaggeration to arrive at the station 40 minutes in advance.

In some of the newer large stations, the ticket gate corresponds to the platform one by one. After checking the ticket, take the escalator down to the platform. For more stations, after checking the ticket, you must follow the instructions to find the station where the train is; the broadcast, signage, and staff can help you find the correct station. If it doesn't work, just follow the flow of people.

Journey

arrive

go sightseeing

Safety

• For your safety, please put your luggage where you can see it, and bring your belongings with you
• If you take a train to a remote area, or a sleeper train that feels poor security, or travel alone, please drain the water in the cup and wash the cup after each outing to prevent someone from secretly throwing poison or drugs , Take the opportunity to rob

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