May 31, 2013 Shanghai - Beijing by Bullet Train

May 31, 2013

Shanghai - Beijing by Bullet Train

We had to get up early as we had to meet our Guide, Harry at 7:30 to catch the 9:00 high speed train from Shanghai to Beijing. Our Driver, Mr. Wong had to get through the morning traffic and get us to the station on time. The traffic in Shanghai was very heavy but Mr. Wong somehow got us to the station with a lot of time to spare. The train station for the high speed trains is next to the Shanghai Honggiao Intenational Airport that services mainly local air traffic in China. Also there is a subway station at the train station and airport. The train station is just huge and has waiting areas for the different trains that are departing. We met a very nice man at the waiting area who was from San Francisco and taught Fiber Optics and LED lighting in California and China. I had a very interesting talk with him on fiber optics as I was familiar with this area because of my work in the railways. He was catching the fast train to Beijing but was scheduled on the train one hour after ours. He could not get onto our train at 9:00 AM at it was full. There was also a train that was departing at 8:00 AM that was just about ready to depart when we arrived. Our train was a double consist of 16 cars that was made up of 2 standard consists of 8 cars. Now this is a lot of people being transported. With a population of 1.3 billion this is not surprising.

Boarding of our train started 15 minutes before train was due to leave. This was the normal practice so it was a bit of a scramble with all the people getting on the train. This was made easier as passengers were automatically checked by a turnstyle system onto the train to make sure each passenger had the correct ticket onto the train. Also this turnstyle system is used to check passengers when they got off the train. With this system it is pretty hard to get on the wrong train. However everyone had no trouble finding their car number and reserved seat on the car before the train departed the station at precisely 9:00 AM. The departure was so smooth that we had to look out the window to tell that train was moving. The train picked up speed very quickly and in no time the train was at 297 KM per hour. Until we got to the first and only stop at Xizhou, the train maintained a speed of just under 300 KM per hour. After that the speed was maintained at 300 to 303 KM per hour.

The train between Shanghai and Beijing originally was operating at a maximum speed of 380 KM per hour but after a bad accident that was due to human error, the train speed was reduced to 300 KM per hour. With only one stop on the trip between Shanghai and Beijing that is 1318 KM, it took less than 5 hours. The average speed over the tip was 263.4 KM per hour. The trip was so smooth that the only feeling of movement was when another high speed train passed from the opposite direction and all that was felt was a slight bump to the side. The food service was very convenient with cart service to the cars. Also there was a car with a snack counter and small area with tables. Housekeeping was exceptional with people washing the floors after people boarded the cars and several times during the trip. Hot water was available free for people who wanted to make their own tea.

We were picked up at the station by our former Beijing Guide, Lee who is responsible for our tours and stay in Beijing. We were first taken to the office of our travel agent Helen who had been corresponding with me by email for several months prior to our trip. It was nice to meet Helen as we had been emailing to each other for some time and got to know each other by email. We had our picture taken with Helen, Lee, Dorothy and me. I gave Helen a copy of all that I had written for my blog that I was unable to upload to the internet while I was in China. After our visit to see Helen, we were taken to our hotel.

The Shanghai Honggiao Station.

Dorothy and Con in the waiting area for the Shanghai to Beijing  High Speed Train.

Shanghai Honggiao Station.

Maintenance facilities for the CRH high speed trains in Shanghai.

Our train is passing another CRH train on another track.

Maximum speed of our train from Shanghai to first and only stop at Xiazhou.

Farmers fields well maintained next to the railway track.

A large lake with a house near it.

Another well maintained farm by the railway track.

More well cared farms by the railway track.

The 2-3 seating in coach class.

The train passed some rocky mountains.

Maximum speed of the train from Xiazhou to Shanghai.

Con, our Tour Guide Lee and Dorothy.

Our Travel Agent in Beijing, Con, our Guide, Lee and Dorothy.

  Videos below are of the High Speed CRH train taken when the train was travelling at about 300 KM per hour except last video when the train was slowing down when it was approaching the Beijing Railway Station. Listen to the people speaking in Chinese.

 Just click the arrow to start the video.