Society

Lower price, speed for Beijing-Shanghai express

By Guan Xiaomeng (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-04-20 16:55

The high-speed railway line linking Beijing and Shanghai to be opened in June will remove first-class cabins and run at lower-than-planned speeds to respond to public complaints over inaccessible prices.

Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday that the speed of the train would be lowered from 380 kph (about 236 mph) to 300 kph (about 186 mph) and change all its VIP cabin seats to ordinary ones.

A one-way run between the two municipalities will be five hours, one more hour than planned, and two-tier tickets will be sold, as for other high-speed trains operating now.

The rail had planned to install luxury cabins in a bid to compete with airliners for high-end business passengers. But the move had discouraged lower earners.

According to the Ministry of Railways, the newly planned express will also include 250 kph runs dropping passengers in county-level cities.

The nationwide high-speed network will adopt the real name ticketing system starting June 1, and the Beijing-Shanghai express will firstly introduce online ticketing then.