Bullet Train or Airplane: Which is the Best Value for Money?

Jan 14, 2012 By eChinacities.com

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Editors note: This is a translated article original published on the Chinese web magazine eastday.com. With the upcoming opening of the high speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai, many people have been discussing which is the better option for travelling between the two cities, the bullet train or the airplane? This article tries to give an answer through the comparison of a number of factors ranging from travel time to price and even level of comfort. If you want to know which one to choose next time you do the trip, read on!

Will the June opening of the high speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai change the passenger transportation market from one dominated by air to a market with more equal competition between airplane and train? Will you choose the bullet train or the airplane next time the trip goes between the country’s two biggest metropolises? We will help you to find out!

1. Time

Comparison: Time taken to get from People’s Square in Shanghai to Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Bullet train that travels at 330km/h

From Peoples square to Hongqiao Train Station by subway (line 2): 40 minutes
Waiting for the bullet train (including arriving 15 minutes in advance as well as waiting an additional 15 minutes): 30 minutes
Actual travel time in the bullet train: 4 hours and 48 minutes
From Beijing South Railway Station to Tiananmen by subway (line 4 and line 1): 45 minutes

The above trip takes 6 hours and 43 minutes all in all.

Airplane

From People’s Square to Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 by subway (line 2): 35 minutes
Waiting for airplane (normally you need to be at the airport 90 minutes prior to departure): 90 minutes
Actual travel time by airplane: 2 hours
Waiting for the Airport express in Beijing (longest waiting time for Airport express is 20 minutes, actual travel time to Sanyuanqiao subway station is 25 minutes): 45 minutes
From Sanyuanqiao subway station to Tiananmen Square (line 10 to Guomao station then transfer to line 1 going to Tiananmen Square): 40 minutes

The above trip takes 5 hours and 30 minutes all in all.

The airplane wins the first round!

2. Ticket price

Comparison: The complete cost of getting from People’s Square in Shanghai to Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Bullet train that travels at 330 km/h

There are two different kinds of bullet trains travelling at 250 km/h and 330 km/h respectively. A second class ticket for the train travelling at 330km/h from Beijing to Shanghai is 555 RMB, first class 935 RMB and Business class (including viewing seats and private room) is 1750 RMB. A second class ticket for the train travelling at 250 km/h is 410 RMB and 650 RMB for first class from Beijing to Shanghai.
From People’s Square to Hongqiao Train Station we take the subway which costs 5 RMB, then we take a second class seat on the 330 km/h train to Beijing that costs 555 RMB and lastly the subway ticket for the Beijing subway sets us back 2 RMB.

All in all we spend 562 RMB to get from Shanghai to Beijing.

Airplane

From People’s Square to Hongqiao Airport by subway costs us 5 RMB. The air ticket itself costs 1130 RMB plus airport construction fee of 50 RMB, fuel surcharge of 140 RMB. The airport express ticket in Beijing costs another 25 RMB and lastly the subway ticket to take us from Sanyuanqiao to Tiananmen Square sets us back 2 RMB.

All in all the trip from Shanghai to Beijing by airplane costs us 1352 RMB.

The bullet train is a clear winner in round 2!

3. Comfort

Comparison: Which is the more comfortable mode of transportation, bullet train or airplane?

Bullet train

In a second class compartment in the Beijing-Shanghai bullet train there are 5 chairs in a row; the inclination of the chairs can be adjusted and there is ample leg space. There are two toilets and one washing room in each compartment. There is even bigger space in the first class compartments with only four chairs in a row.
If all this is not enough to satisfy your cravings for railway luxury then we can add that the female attendants of the bullet trains have been selected by the highest standards, which among many other things means that when they smile they have a straight line of eight shiny white teeth!
It is also worth noting that in contrast to airplanes, you are allowed to use your mobile phone on the train, and passengers have access to 3G wireless internet making it possible for you to do important work while on the road.

Airplane

It’s hard to talk about comfort when discussing domestic air transport. The seats on economy class are quite narrow and the inclination of the seat can only be adjusted slightly. If you want to stretch out your legs, you have to do that under the seat of the person in front of you. Because of turbulence you normally have to stay put in your seat. At least you can comfort yourself with the fact that the waitresses are generally both attractive and offer a good service.

Again the bullet train takes the lead over the airplane and is a clear winner of round 3!

4. Buying a ticket

Comparison: Level of convenience when buying a ticket.

Bullet train

Starting from the end of June it is possible to buy tickets online and using more than 20 kinds of ID cards for ticket identification. It will not be necessary with a reservation. Passengers can buy a ticket just before departure.

Airplane

Normally an airplane ticket must be bought at least one day in advance.

The bullet trains wins round four as the most convenient for buying tickets!

We can conclude from our small competition that apart from saving some travel time the airplane does not have many selling points compared to the bullet train. Delays, the distance of airports from city centres and the time spent on security checks are all good reasons to choose the bullet train over the airplane. However it is still too early to say if we really are leaving the era of air transportation and entering a brave new world of high speed train travel. Who will be the last to laugh? We will have to wait and see…

Source: huanqiu.com

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Keywords: Beijing shanghai bullet train high speed train from shanghai to beijing china bullet train China bullet train airplane compared

Comments(9)

9 Comments

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Greg
(0) (1)

1130 is the full fare - usually when one flies in China there is a big discount. I have prob flown 100 times internally and NEVER paid full price, and usually pay less than 50%. Why is this not mentioned? How about online booking? Easy for airlines practically impossible for trains.

'Waiting for the bullet train (including arriving 15 minutes in advance as well as waiting an additional 15 minutes): 30 minutes''

Who does this - - -Anyone comfortable arriving at Shanghai or Beijing station 30 minutes before the off? I think not

The website and the train system have the same owner...

Jan 27, 2012 04:33 Report Abuse

Peter
(0) (1)

About the best advantage that air travel has over the bullet trains is that it is possible to book the tickets months in advance (cost me AUD$157 to fly from HK to Tianjin with an overnight stop in SH).

I am not sure if the bullet trains can be booked from outside China, (like air tickets can be) but even so, only being able to book 10 days in advance would have been very problematic if I was not able to secure a ticket!

But whenever I can I prefer to take a train as I find them less stressful - and not as subject to sudden changes in departure times (or delays)

Jan 21, 2012 06:28 Report Abuse

ojo
(0) (1)

Anything that would be under a five hour train ride is worth it to train as opposed to plane. Once you factor in checking in and baggage pick up flying, plus getting to the airport and the gauranteed flight delay, you're looking at eight hours to make a one hour flight. So take the train and be there in five.

Jan 16, 2012 03:09 Report Abuse

marc
(2) (1)

Smoke on the high speed train....er no. Maybe you could risk a quick and crafty puff when there is nobody about, but if caught, just as in the air, you will be punished. I am a smoker, and the thought of spending a few hours locked in an air tight tube with smoke around me does not inspire a nice environment, if your talking about the cheaper and older trains then perhaps smoking is acceptable. Anyway, if you believe what is written, it is now officially illegally to smoke indoors or in or on a public place, including transport, but this is China so obeying the rules is not important.

Jun 24, 2011 19:48 Report Abuse

JoeCorPen
(0) (1)

"i believe even faster bullet trains should be made connecting world cities" Good idea, well this is already being proposed, they call it, International Peace Highway and when this International Peace Highway is completed, the world can be physically bound together as one.

Jan 21, 2012 12:14 Report Abuse

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