Take the Slow Train to Hangzhou

The name-based ticketing system for bullet trains in China will go into effect shortly. It's not as big of a hassle as anticipated earlier, as the clerks have reached a consensus to enter passport numbers instead of English names.

As usual, English is not even close to an operational language in China. Very little has changed in the past 10 years in this regard, even in Shanghai. As we would expect, the onus is on the person living here to learn some Mandarin. For a halfpat, that would certainly be a requirement.

Since my new house is rather close to the Shanghai South Railway Station, I've been able to find out more about how this particular station operates. I had completely overlooked a fact when lambasting the bullet trains a few posts back. That is to say, the regular trains are still in operation, and you can still get to Hangzhou (for example) with multiple trains out of the south station that enjoy cheap prices.

You just have to be adamant to the ticket booth that you actually WANT the slower trains that leave from the south station, and specify the details of the time and train number. That information you can easily get on the internet from the China Trains website.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/

Not too long ago I wanted to get to Hangzhou and assumed from the past (before 2004) that you can get the train tickets from the south station. So I went there, to the south station booth, and said, "One ticket to Hangzhou, please"

The clerk said, "Bullet train or fast train?"

I replied, "Fast train"

As an aside, bullet trains start with the letter G, short for 'gao tie' which are the fastest trains. The other fast trains start with D for 'dong che' There isn't much of a difference between the two in terms of speed. Fast trains go up to 250 km/h, whereas bullet trains go up to 300 km/h and make even fewer stops. However, bullet trains cost nearly twice the price as fast trains. Fast trains cost twice the price of regular trains.

Then the clerk said, "You need to depart from Shanghai Hongqiao station"

At that point I was furious, but it was too late since he printed the ticket first before telling me this. Logic would have indicated that if I'm buying from a south station, perhaps I wanted to leave from here, as I had done in 2004.

But I also didn't know the situation had changed, and that all the bullet and fast trains were leaving from the new Hongqiao station. So getting mad or arguing back would have been pointless.

The Hongqiao station is way out there in the suburbs and takes 45 - 60 minutes to get there. Whatever time savings there are in taking the bullet trains end up being wasted in getting to the station first

I also assumed that the south station trains to Hangzhou had all been canceled as is typical when they introduce the bullet trains that overlap with regular routes.

But I guess that enough passengers complained to keep the regular routes with affordable prices.

A more detailed check of the south station and the schedules shows that you can still take regular trains to Hangzhou, just like in the past when things were actually better. And just like in the past, you don't need a passport to buy the tickets.

You just need to walk into the south station and say something like, "I want a train ticket to Hangzhou, using this particular slow train, at this time, with this number, leaving from this station, and yes, I really do want it."

A bullet train ticket to Hangzhou costs 85 RMB and takes 40 minutes, plus the hour to get to Hongqiao
A fast train costs 50 RMB and takes 50 minutes plus the hour.
A regular train costs 25 RMB and takes 2 hours --- just like in the past.
The ultra-slow one costs 15 RMB and takes 3 hours --- but this is not worth it.

If you live near the south station, as do I, then the regular trains make the most sense of all. And there are still dozens of them that depart every day!

I only wish someone had told me this information earlier, but then why would they when bullet trains are all the rage? I seriously wonder if people in this country even know the meaning of what logic is or how to apply it. At any rate, good to know that reason still prevails.