The high-speed Beijing-Shanghai rail line has received the green light from an inspection team to begin services on July 1.
According to the Ministry of Railway, the trains will run at speeds of either 300km/h or 250km/h and ticket prices will be determined according to the speed of the train that the passenger chooses to take. Prices of the tickets, however, have not yet been released.
This rail link on the most lucrative route within China cuts travel time down to five hours and is an attractive alternative to flights that serve this route. On average, the duration of a flight on this route is two hours but that does not include travel time to and from the airports, time-consuming departure procedures and flight delays due to air traffic congestion.
However, as reported earlier (see story here), purchasing train tickets is a complicated process. There is still no online platform and passengers who want to buy tickets in advance, must do so at least five to six days in advance. When buying tickets at the stations, usually only cash is accepted.
Furthermore, from now on, passengers will be expected to provide some form of identification when buying tickets.
Alisha Haridasani
