Despite losing two to the horrid Wenzhou disaster, China’s HSR fleet are still modern (the oldest is “just” 4 1/2 years old), neat, and feature futuristic designs. The kind of futurism that’s real — not perceived Shanzhai futurism. (The tube-ish elevators inside Paris’s awful Charles de Gaulle Airport’s Terminal 1 are futurism gone totally wrong…)
The Trains
CRH1
- Maximum speed: 250 km/h
- Variants: CRH1A (8-car), CRH1B (16-car), CRH1E (16-car sleeper)
- Classes available: First Class, Second Class, Bistro/Restaurant Car; on CRH1E, Soft Sleeper and a handful of Deluxe Super Sleeper cabins
- Year entered service: 2007 (2009 for the CRH1B)
The CRH1 (here, a CRH1A at the Shanghai South Railway Station)
The CRH1E which features the craved (but also super-expensive!) Deluxe Soft Sleeper; note its slightly different head
The CRH1 doesn’t have the most futuristic design to warrant itself the Number One HSR trainset in China, but it’s a rock-solid runner that relays between urban hubs. Most notably, CRH1 trains served the super-busy Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou intercity routes before separate HSR trunk lines were built for them (and for faster CRH380 trains).
The CRH1 has wide doors — a plus for getting people on and off trains quickly. That’s a design plus. A design minus: the crazy power sockets, especially in First Class. It basically involves sticking your recharges upside down. We have yet to seen crazier still designs.
Where to catch them: They’re most often seen for trains running exclusively between Guangzhou East and Shenzhen; elsewhere, they’re also heavily used on the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway, the Chengdu-Qingchengshan regional express rail, and the Nanchang-Jiujiang Intercity Railway. The CRH1E featuring a Deluxe Soft Sleeper is only available on very select routes: only one night train between Beijing and Shanghai uses these.
Ticketing notes: You know your train’s a CRH1 if First Class seats are in Cars 1 and 8 (on longer trains, Cars 14 to 16). Deluxe Soft Sleeper is only available at Car 10 on the CRH1E long consist trains. Sadly, you can also tell a CRH1 train if your ears pop a lot when the train goes through tunnels.
In Memoriam: A CRH1B train (train CRH1-046B running as Train No. D3115) was badly damaged in the Wenzhou train crash in July 2011.
CRH2
- Maximum speed: 350 km/h (temporary speed limit: 300 km/h)
- Maximum speed during tests: 393 km/h (Jan 2010 on Zhengzhou-Xi’an HSR)
- Variants: CRH2A (8-car), CRH2B (16-car), CRH2C (8-car), CRH2E (16-car sleeper)
- Classes available: First Class, Second Class, Bistro/Restaurant Car; on CRH2E, Soft Sleeper
- Year entered service: 2007 (2008 for the CRH2B, CRH2C and CRH2E; 2010 for second-generation CRH2Cs)
The “flagship” first-generation Chinese HSR train: the CRH2 (here, in Tianjin)
The CRH2 was the flagship HSR train in China’s first-generation HSR. Inside China, it still remains relatively controversial, as it started off life as imported trains from Japan’s Shinkansen system. The controversy was further maximized when the first CRH2 trainsets had to slip silently into Chinese territory, whereas ceremonies marking the arrival of other trainsets, notably the CRH3, were more public.
But away from the politics: the CRH2 was a train where style mattered. Second Class appeared more “harmonious” in a blue-and-white livery, and the train heads had that more futuristic HSR feel. It also featured an optimized First Class where every row of seats had their own window (something which was only seen afterwards on the CRH380A, CRH380AL and all Business Class seats). More luxury came standard with newer CRH2C trains (running most often on the Nanchang-Jiujiang Intercity Railway), which featured compartments in First Class.
The CRH2 remains also the sole HSR train in China where you could see both First and Second Class in the same carriage (on some CRH2A trains as Car 3).
The CRH2 was also the sole Chinese HSR model which came in both a 250 km/h (200 km/h) and a 350 km/h (300 km/h) variant. The sole 350 km/h variant came with the CRH2C cars; all other CRH2 variants were designed for a maximum speed of 250 km/h only. The CRH2-150C train was a special trainset, yet again: it became the “experiment trainset” for the eventual CRH380A. It now “lives” as the CIT380A testing train.
The 100+ CRH2 trainsets now are so commonplace that they’ve been set loose on nearly all accelerated Chinese railways and some HSRs as well.
Where to catch them: Difficult: they’re all over the place! Your chances are greater on trains running from Hefei to Nanjing or Wuhan. CRH2C trains, however, are all over the Zhengzhou-Xi’an HSR.
Ticketing notes: If you are travelling on C or G trains, a CRH2C train will be one where First Class is Car 7. For all other D trains, it’s just pure random chaos in terms of the class numbering and where to find First Class carriages.
In Memoriam: A CRH2C train (running as Train No. D301) was badly damaged in the Wenzhou train crash in July 2011.
CRH3
- Maximum speed: 350 km/h (temporary speed limit: 300 km/h)
- Maximum speed during tests: 394.3 km/h (June 2008 on Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway)
- Sole variant: CRH3C (8-car)
- Classes available: Deluxe Class, First Class, Second Class, Bistro/Restaurant Car
- Year entered service: 2008
A CRH3 train waiting for its regular “terminus shower” (at the Tianjin Railway Station) before passengers are welcomed onboard
Easily mistaken for a German ICE 3 train, the Chinese-made CRH3C now run side to side with the CRH2C on most high-speed lines. The CRH3 is now the main model of trains running on 300+ km/h HSR lines, due to the fact that it was designed for speeds this fast. There’s also no problem if two of these are linked together: in fact, two CRH3C raced by with no problem, setting a world speed record for double-linked HSR trains: at an amazing 394.2 km/h.
If you always wanted to take a look at the train driver (but never head-on!), thank the Germans, who came up with the idea of Lounge Compartments at the front and the back of the trains. Then thank the Chinese, who managed to keep this concept intact as a variant of the ICE 3, the CRH3, made its way into the Middle Kingdom. When these seats became available in August 2008, only the seats at the back of the train were open, but beginning in summer 2010, seats at the front of the train also became available (although they have to be ordered at the station of departure!).
If you’re German and you want to see “your stuff on our (Chinese) tracks”, check out trains CRH3-002C and CRH3-004C, which were the original, German-made trains. Being German, it’s highly unlikely they’ll derail any time soon. That’s not to say the Chinese-made ones aren’t safe: in fact, one of the local manufacturers took the unprecedented step of recalling similar trains in summer 2011 after minor faults were detected.
The Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway is the sole HSR line in China where all Beijing South-Tianjin(-Tanggu) trains are proudly operated by an all-CRH3 fleet. So just step onboard and ride between the two cities in just half an hour!
Where to catch them: Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway; the CRH3C also runs (alongside CRH2C trains) on the Wuhan-Guangzhou part of the Beijing-Hong Kong HSR
Ticketing notes: Seats 1-8 on Cars 1 and 8 are Deluxe Class. First Class is always Car 5.
CRH5
- Maximum speed: 250 km/h
- Sole variant: CRH5A (8-car)
- Classes available: First Class, Second Class, Bistro/Restaurant Car
- Year entered service: 2007
A CRH5 train about to leave the Beijing South Railway Station
If there’s one trainset that’s both available in both Switzerland and China (as well as Italy, where it originated), that’d be the CRH5. Based on the ETR 610 (of Swiss/Italian Cisalpino fame), the Chinese version runs without the optional tilting technology. Like its Swiss/Italian counterpart, the CRH5 encountered a fair number of tech bugs when it first hit the Chinese rails, but these were later solved.
Hailing from central Europe, home to territory near the Alps, this trainset is ready for the grueling northeastern Chinese winter cold — the CRH5 is presently the sole HSR trainset that can withstand bitter cold to the tune of -40°C maximum. If you’re headed to the northeast, chances are that if it’s an HSR train, it’ll be the CRH5. (That doesn’t mean the CRH5 can’t get tropical: it also runs without a hitch in summer heat up to +40°C.)
The CRH5′s seating is somewhat dismal. Even in First Class, the comfort of the seats is nowhere close to that found in the CRH2, CRH3 or CRH380. If you’ve an option to pick between the CRH5 and other trains (apart from the CRH1) for a long journey, go with other trains instead.
The CRH5 is now China’s second most visible HSR trainset: thanks to recent orders by railway authorities in charge of railways in southern China, this train is headed to further destinations still.
Where to catch them: All trains to destinations in northeastern China (Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces)
Ticketing notes: First Class seats are always in Car 8, and on some trains, in Car 1 as well.
CRH380
- Maximum speed: 380 km/h (temporary speed limit: 313 km/h)
- Maximum speed during tests: 486.1 km/h (December 2010 on Beijng-Shanghai HSR, CRH380AL); 487.3 km/h (January 2011 on Beijing-Shanghai HSR, CRH380BL modified)
- Variants: CRH380A (8-car), CRH380AL (16-car), CRH380BL (16-car)
- Classes available: Business Class, Deluxe Class, First Class, Second Class, Bistro/Restaurant Car, Dining Car
- Year entered service: 2010 (CRH380AL, CRH380BL: 2011)
The latest state-of-the-art CRH380A finishing a northbound sprint at the Wuhan Railway Station
The CRH380 trains are China’s next-generation speed demons. Designed for velocities up to 380 km/h (presently, only the Beijing-Shanghai HSR is optimized for such amazing speeds), the trains both break the present record for both the fastest trains and the most comfy trains.
All trains now feature panorama seats at the front and back of the train, and legroom for these are up from their former variants on the CRH3. Also new are seats in the bistro, restaurant and full-length dining cars, as well as a six-seat compartment in First Class. In the longer CRH380AL and CRH380BL trains, Business Class seats can be found in Car 3, as well as in the panorama seating sections (two only per compartment), which feature lie-flat seats. Just push the “flat bed” button, and within a minute, you’ve yourself a bed! How cool is that!
Where to catch them: Beijing-Shanghai HSR (CRH380A, CRH380AL)
Ticketing notes: Business Class (Car 3) available only on CRH380AL and CRH380BL trains. Seats ending in the letters A and F are close to the windows.
Amenities on the Trains
BATHROOMS
For “higher-end” trains, including CRH2, CRH3 and CRH380 trains, most toilets are the standard (in the West) throne seat toilets, which to an incoming foreigner will feel just like home.
Some bathrooms, especially those by First Class compartments, have space wide enough to let in disabled riders using wheelchairs. Some toilets have doors operated by push buttons instead of the usual “door-handle-’n'-lock”. The ones on the CRH3C are hard to use: as a courtesy to the travelling public, you’ll have to close the door from the button inside the moment the door is fully open. Time your escape in time!
BOILED WATER TAPS
Boiled water taps are available throughout Chinese high speed trains, although you might have to search through a few neighbouring compartments to find one (they’re not scarce, but they can appear sort of hidden at times!).
The water is, of course, drinkable, but you’ve been warned that this thing is HOT. How close you are to being boiled alive (sorry!…) depends on the train, in fact: some CRH2 taps feature searing hot water while those on the CRH3 trains are only “just” hot. Bring your own Starbucks mug or something to make sure you’ve a container for the heated water.
Boiled water is something that is extremely Chinese. It’s seen on trains all over China: it is, indeed, the way many a long-distance Chinese traveller saves him or herself from starvation by adding boiled water to an instant noodle pack. While it’s junk food by any means, it’s there — as a public service.
DINING CAR
Most, if not all, high speed trains come with at least what is known as a “bistro bar” in the West — where snacks and selected meals are available. On the CRH380AL and CRH380BL trains, an entire carriage is designated as a full-fledged dining car. Note that these areas are regarded as “consumption areas”: you are only entitled to remain there with a qualifying purchase from the dining car itself!
Minibar services are available in an increasing number of trains.
LOUNGES AND COMPARTMENTS
Six to eight-seater compartments are available on Chinese high speed trains. The Deluxe and Panorama / Sightseeing seats are 6 to 8 seater compartments in their own right. Nearly all CRH380 trains also feature their own compartment in First Class, seating up to six in a separate “box”, a trait shared by second-generation CRH2C trains as well.
POWER PORTS
Power ports are available in nearly all seats, especially on the CRH2, CRH3 and CRH380. The Business Class seats on the CRH380 have a power port in every seat.
Japanese and North American riders take note: China uses 220V, not 110V.
ROTATING SEATS
The trains at the ends of the CRH380AL and CRH380BL trains do not rotate, as is the case with the seats in some dining cars, but nearly all other seats rotate comfortably (especially on newer trains, such as the CRH2, CRH3 and CRH380).