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Bullet Train or Airplane: Which is the Best Value for Money?
eChinacities.com RepostEditors 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!
Photo: jctrans.com
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
Related links
China’s High-Speed Rail System: Golden Dragon or White Elephant?
Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Rail Commences Official Operation on July 1st
Reporters Given First Sneak Peak of Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Train
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wow thats really statistical analysis of you........ cool impressive and very clear on every point.
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If the train works on schedule,people will opt for the train because the planes are always late or 80% late.Long ques to get taxi at airport ,especially Beijing ,the worst taxi waiting and so is shanghai Hongqiao second,.
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@Noel is 100% correct about delays.
Journey time reliability is a big factor for me. As is comfort.
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Unfortunately, not every point has been considered in this article... and considering that, choosing between plane and train on the Shanghai / Beijing route, travel time, price and comfort are generally the same these days. What is NOT the same is the schedule! This article completely omits this point! If you have a lot of time on your hands then maybe schedule does not matter but most travelers today DO have some time constraints, and the bullet train schedule between these two cities sucks when you consider that there are NO trains after 6pm (or thereabouts). Since the introduction of the Shanghai / Beijing bullet trains and the subsequent removal of overnight Z trains, I am forced to fly to Beijing on business (from Shanghai); the schedule is IMPORTANT!!
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A real Xerxes is well educated and understands quality analysis !
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1 to JamesD. Normally when the travel time takes a minimum of 5 to 6 hours, you would like to do it in the night, preferably with sleeping included. When you have to spend 6 hours in the day, it doesn't go well with working crowd
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I'd take the bullet train just for the "straight line of eight shiny white teeth"!
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Can people stand in the aisle on the bullet trains? I know they can on the slow trains and that can get really packed, hot and sweaty...
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You must have a ticket, and each ticket is seat only.
But you can stand if you are more comfortable.
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Yep. The price is no different, and the seats are all taken, ... but tickets are sold nonetheless.
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How about safety? Which would you be more likely to survive,a plane crash or a bullet train crash? (I'm joking by the way)... ;-)
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Nice point. A more serious question would be "How good are safety standards?"
You can be assured that the flights maintain some standards in terms of safety, but are we assured about train?
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I am very interested to see how this does work out, as I am a rail afficionado, at heart, and do hope that the huge investment in high speed rail, in China, does prove to be economically viable.
Although the scenario presented here is a single example, it does however indicate that for other, shorter trips, the time scale narrows to the point where rail could even win on this factor.
I believe that several things will happen:
1) the airlines will reduce some fares on low patronage routes and the railways will increase fares on most routes as patronage increases.
2) some air routes will become uneconomic, so will be withdrawn
The net result will be that price will become less of a factor, and travellers will make their decision on mode of travel based on their own situation.
Thus both modes will survive into the forseeable future.
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Adding to the equation, though, is people driving their own cars. Travel generally becomes more dispersed as travel options increase, working against rail in the long run.
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I traveled on the bullet train from JINAN, Shandong Prov. to Beijing Sth. I have done the trip by air also. I will choose the train every time. Seat allocation is the same, for me the train wins every other point
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I have to question the price you quote for the plane ticket, it seems you chose the most expensive flight. I just checked and tickets are available from 450 RMB plus taxes everyday.
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They missed environmentally?
Train wins hands down there, even if it is an express. It's one of the reasons it costs a lot less, it simply uses less energy.
for good analysis on various forms of travel:
withouthotair (dot) com
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yeah but remember the article was taken from a chinese source... when have they ever cared about the environment?? Environmental protection is not a big deal for the Chinese
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Maybe not so true when you consider the environmental impact of the rail infrastructure across the country, and the energy consumed by the steel industry plus emissions from steel mills... and iron ore mining...
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Bullet train / High Speed Rail wins in most cases because:
1) It operates in a more controlled environment that is more manageable in the longer term
2) The more manageable environment provides High Speed Rail technology with a better platform to improve services where necessary
3) High Speed Rail technology could create more jobs
4) Chinese citizens shall travel more often given the fact that they are much more familiar with rail travel as opposed to air travel
5) It is relatively cheaper in the immediate term
6) It should be less prone to unnecessary delays
7) etc , etc, etc...
The arguments that are pro-High Speed Rail outweighs air travel at the point of writing of this comment but that's just IMHO.
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Another waste of an article.
1. Security lines for the trains better be just as stringent as airplanes.
2. Prices are guesstimates and do not reflect reality.
3. Seats that recline more on the train is actually more of a negative, unless you like to chew on the seat in front of you.
I would prefer the plane where most people will stay seated (and away from me).
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Seats can recline without interfering with the pax behind. There is sooo much legroom.
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They seriously should've taken into account on #1 China's inability to get a plane away on time.
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