Should you have experienced train travel in China in the past, you may feel discouraged because of either their speed or service. However, Chinese railway has undergone earth-shattering changes in recent years. Following a six-stage program to increase railway speed, traveling by train is no longer an agonizing journey. Instead, it can be the most cost effective choice for travelers. 
Step1: Security Check
Take the Train
Always spare some time before the departure time of your train. Generally speaking, you need to arrive at the railway station an hour before the train leaves. However, should you take a train during spring rush or holidays, you are advised to be two hours earlier. Hereafter are the basic steps for boarding. Hope it will help your boarding more easily.
Step 1: Enter into the railway station.
There are X-ray machines in the entrance of each railway station. All the luggages have to be passed through to examine for the dangerous items. Once you put your luggage on the machine, please go to the other side and fetch them quickly in case that your luggage is taken either by mistake or on purpose.
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| Step2: Find the Right Waiting Room |
Step 2: Find the right waiting room. After you enter into the railway station, you should find the terminal hall where your train is going to leave from. There are always electronic departure boards in the railway station with information shown in Chinese. You can find your waiting room according to the information given on your train tickets, or you can ask a staff for help if you are in trouble with the Chinese characters.
Step 3: Get into the platform. In most cases, check in starts 30 minutes before the train's departure if it is the starting station. Thus you are advised to arrive at the station one hour earlier. If it is not a starting station, check in starts when the train arrives, then you just need to be 30 minutes earlier. There will be broadcast to inform you then. Remember to take all your luggage!
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Step 4: Board the TrainThe train number and the carriage number are shown outside the train clearly; therefore it is easy to find your carriage. There is a railway staff at the door of each carriage to whom you are required to show your ticket. If you board on the wrong carriage, he/she will instruct you to the right one.
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Travelers' Voices on Take the Train
1.
Nov. 11,2009 23:02 Reply
Ms.Nanie(Malaysia) said:
Dear Mr Tim
Thanks for your info.
I do check the train schedule.Im arrive at 2225(Hangzhou Airport).Do u have any suggestion to me how can i take train and what the train number,since this is my first trip to shanghai.
Thanks again and waiting for your reply.
Nanie
Nov. 16,2009 02:17
Mr.Tim(CN) replied:
Your flght lands so late, so you have to stay ovenight in Hangzhou, unless you take a taxi, which is by sheer luck and will cost you a lot money. On the next day, take a taxi or shuttle bus to the Railway station. There are many trains every day to Shanghai. Or you can take a bus. The station is also near the Railway Station.
2.
Nov. 11,2009 00:49 Reply
Ms.Nanie(Malaysia) said:
Hi
Anyone can help me how to get train from hangzhou Airport to Shanghai...?
Which convenient by train or taxi?How much the cost both?
Thanks
Nov. 11,2009 03:41
Mr.Tim(CN) replied:
I do not think taking taxi from hangzhou to Shanghai is a good idea as the taxi fee will be very high. You can go to the Hangzhou railway station to take a train to Shanghai. There are many trains between the two places every day. The soft seat ticket is CNY62.
3.
Nov. 2,2009 10:57 Reply
Mrs.elvie(singapore) said:
My daughter and I will be in Beijing from 14 Nov 2009 and plan to take the overnight train to Shanghai (soft sleeper) on the 16th of Nov. Is it necessary to book now or can we wait until we are in Beijing? How much is the fare per person?
If we need to book now, how do we do it from Singapore? Can we book by internet? which website?
thanks in advance for your help!
Nov. 4,2009 23:43
Ms.Eliza(Austria) replied:
Yes, you need to buy tickets earlier to assure the availability. As i know, the train tickets can only be purchased from the departure city. You can buy it at the railway station or ticket office. You may try to ask your hotel in Beijing do this for you. Most hotels in China offer this kind of service. Wish you a nice trip.
Nov. 4,2009 23:45
Ms.Eliza(Austria) replied:
Oh, by the way, the train fare is CNY499.00.
Nov. 5,2009 06:05
Ms.Elvie(Singapore) replied:
Dear Ms. Eliza
Thank you for your reply...a tour operator has advised me (when I queried them) that the train fare for soft sleeper is not Yuan 499 but Yuan 730 plus their commission or charges of Yuan 50. They said that the 499 is the old price, the new price of 730 is for the bullet trains.
Not sure how true this is but will try to ask our hotel to get us tickets.
thanks again!
4.
Oct. 30,2009 04:39 Reply
Mr.HANSVANDIJK(Netherlands) said:
Hello,
I'am planning to take the train from Hong Kong to Beijing in March 2010. Could someone tell me how much this is gonne cost? And is it possible to take a look around in the places you come across for a few days, and than later on resume the trip? Thank you
5.
Oct. 19,2009 12:31 Reply
Ms.Lin(Msia) said:
Hi, I am planning a trip to Beijing and need to know if it is difficult to travel to Beijing city from Tianjin? This is because there is a budget airline that flies direct to Tianjin at cheaper fare.
my queries are:
1) What are the available train fares/types around ie slow vs express (pls provide est travel time)?
2) what are the fares like?
3) How convenient from Tianjin airport to Tianjin train station for train to Beijing?
4) safety of travelling alone esp for female on China trains from North (Beijing) to South (eg Guangdong)with some stopovers in major cities along the way? advise much appreciated
thanks in advance
Oct. 20,2009 01:15
Ms.Elsa(Guangzhou, CN) replied:
Hi, there are lots of train from Tianjin to Beijing. The train leaves every 10 or 20 minutes. The ticket is ￥69.00 per first class seat ticket for the urban high speed trains, which has the ride only 30 minutes. For the express train, the soft seat is ￥34.00 per ticket and the train journey takes about 1.5 hours.
It is very easy to take taxi from Tianjin airport to the railway station.
Moreover, generally speaking, it is saft to train in China by long distance soft sleeper train.
Oct. 24,2009 04:09
Mr.jacky(China) replied:
Hi Ms, When is your tentative travel date?
6.
Oct. 14,2009 13:25 Reply
Mrs.D Waudby(England) said:
I will be disembarking my cruise ship at Xingang Cruise Port and will hopefully take a taxi to Tanggu Railway Station (I have read that this is possible, is this correct) in March 2010. Will there be plenty of trains going to Beijing - (I am looking at maybe a bullet train).Will I be able to buy my ticket at the railway station, what is the cost and how long should I allow myself before the train departure time. It will be in the morning sometime after 10 am.
Kind Regards
Diane Waudby, England e-mail : diana349@diana349.karoo.co.uk
Oct. 20,2009 19:49
Mrs.Andrea(AU) replied:
There are many inter-urban express trains from Tianjin to Beijing every 15 minutes or so. You can buy the train tickets very easy upon your arrival at the railway station. It costs ￥69 per first class seat ticket and ￥58 per second class seat ticket. When you arrive at the train station, you are advised buy tickets on train that leaves 1 hour later, which gives you enough time to catch it.
7.
Oct. 10,2009 11:38 Reply
Ms.jo(singapore) said:
I am going to Ningbo from Shanghai on the 28/10 thereafter I will have to leave Ningbo to hangzhou (westlake). Can you please advise whats the best way of transport I should take (coach or train) ???Please help
Oct. 13,2009 04:21
Ms.Yee(Shanghai, CN) replied:
Hello, I suggest you take the soft seat train from Shanghai to Ningbo and from Ningbo to Hangzhou. There are several trains available between the above cities daily. Each of the train jouney takes only about 2 to 3 hours.
8.
Oct. 1,2009 13:18 Reply
Ms.Sue(USA) said:
how o I get from the airport in Shanghai to take the train to Beiging How much in US ollers is it and o I need a to purchase a ticket in advance? If anyone can give me any info I would appreciate it Thanks Su Su
Oct. 13,2009 02:05
Mr.Terry (Guangzhou, China) replied:
Hello, Ms. Sue,
There are two airports in Shanghai, namely Hongqiao airport and Pudong airport. If you arrive at Hongqiao airport, you can take taxi at a cost of about 50 CNY to arrive at the railway station. If you arrive at Pudong airport, you can take airport bus line 5 goes directly to the train station, but it ends at 21:00 in the evening. However, you can always find a taxi no matter how late you arrive and it costs about 150 CNY to 200 CNY.
The train from Shanghai to Beijing are all bullet trains, which takes about 10 hours. The train information are as follows:
D32 10:50/20:32
D308 21:21/07:25
D306 21:26/07:30
D302 21:31/07:35
D314 21:41/07:40
The soft sleeper train berths for the bullet trains (D-series) is 730CNY, which eaquals 105 USD. If possible, you are suggested to reservet the train tickets in advance from your hotel in Shanghai.
9.
Oct. 12,2009 21:56 Reply
Mr.EMCDAN1064(United States) said:
I want to take the train from Shanghai(PVG)to Yiwu then to Hangzjou and back to Yiwu
10.
Sep. 28,2009 06:58 Reply
Mr.Raj (USA) said:
Hello,
I am in Hong Kong and am very near the Sheung Shui MTR station. As I understand it that I can hop on to the MTR and get to the Lo Wu station. Do immigration as I will have my Visa and then proceed to purchase my tickets to Ghuangzhou. I can't seem to find any CHR or China Railway website. regarding timings.
Thank you,
Raj