High Speed Trains at Guangzhou(Canton) China

[Eisenbahn]

Here are some photos from my recent visit to GuangZhou ( Canton) China. The photos were taken at the GuangZhou south Terminal Station and QuingYuan Station, the next one along the line. There are also photos of the new Underground network at Guangzhou.

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[to2leo]

Thanks for sharing your photos, I like the spacious and clean design of the stations.  I never been on a CRH train before, how was the ride quality?

[Eisenbahn]

Everything was good about the experience. It operated like an airline. After buying a ticket you went through a security screening process ( a walk thru scanner and a personal body touch down with hand held scanner) showed you passport & ticket and then went to a pre-boarding waiting area to await a boarding call.  The boarding announcement was made in English on a screen over the boarding gate. This was staffed by three people who checked tickets and then you walked down to the platform and boarded the train.  At 303km/hr it was a smooth ride and relatively quiet. Similar to an ICE3. 

 

When I was on the platform of a smaller regional station (QingYuan), a HST came through at full speed without stopping.  I have been on many Shinkansen stations on the Kanto plain when JR East Shinkansen have come through at speed but nowhere near as fast as this particular Chinese HST came through QingYuan station. It was like a rocket.

 

QuinYuan Station (see photo) had three separate compartments, arrivals, departures, ticket sales. To go from one to the other you had to go outside the station building, walk along the building and come back in. Unlike the JR East Shinkansen Stations which often have shops on the first and second floors there was only a huge cavernous space inside QuinYuan Station but the tracks were up on viaducts about 3 storeys up, similar height as some of the JR East stations.

 

It was easy to buy a ticket. I just pointed to the station I wanted to go to on a map and a price in Yuan dispalyed on a screen.

GuangZhou South Station was the newest and biggest station I have ever seen.

 

Tickets are cheap. It was only 40Yuan from Guangzhou South to QuinYuan, about 15 minute trip.  A chocholate milkshake at the airport cost me 50 Yuan.

[to2leo]

That's amazing, I will be in HK for 3 weeks in October, perhaps I should try out the CRH trains in Shenzhen.  It is odd that you need to go out and come back in for ticket office, arrival and departure.  I guess this was done so to handle the crowds during busier times?

 

Aside from France and Japan, there isn't many trains that will truly go to 300km/h.  So I am looking forward to having that experience again by a China station platform.

 

How's the food on board?

[Eisenbahn]

1. I never tried the food on board but  am sure it would be OK.

 

2. Depending on what passport you travel on, you probably wont need a visa for HK but you will need to get a visa for mainland China. (Here in Australia they cost about A$100 =US$100 and take about 4 days)

 

3. For me riding on the Chinese HST network was a great experience and I will probably do it again on a stopover in Guangzhou/Canton when flying between Australia and Europe. As can be seen from my photo of seating in a 2nd class carriage there are luggage racks above the seats if you want to stay overnight somewhere.

 

4. By the way, the seat number and car number are marked on the ticket and the platforms have clear markings where the door is for that carriage. Having seat allocations means there is no scramble or confrontations with others about who sits where.

 

5. The people flows at Guangzhou South Station worked quite well; even at the ticket counters  there were orderly queues for the 8 booths operating at the time I was there.

 

6. On parts of the new line between Paris Est and Strasbourg the trains are quite fast and probably hit 300km/h but I dont think many countries regularly run their HSTs at or over 300 apart from certain sections in Japan and France, as you say. Perhaps other forum members have ridden the new Russian, Spanish or Italian networks and know speed details there.

 

If you are in HK, it would be worth the effort to cross the border to ride the Chinese HSTs.

 

cheers....Eisenbahn

[Mudkip Orange]

I don't get the giant, windswept plazas in front of the stations. It seems like there's this communist tendency towards putting giant plazas in front of everything. Especially when the stations themselves are huge, move your entrance up to the street (a la PHL 30th or Paris Nord), or put in a circular drive that rolls right up to the entrance (a la LAUPT, NOL, or even Lancaster PA).

[Eisenbahn]

Hi Mudkip

Here is the (old)  main station in Guangzhou for traditional trains(not HSTs). It also has a big square in front and is in a very built up area. There is a new underground Metro station below.

 

The two High Speed stations I photographed above were in new, out of town areas, away from existing development, where there seemed to be a lot of free land. But your question still stands. Why are there huge squares in front  of stations? 

 

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[bikkuri bahn]

I don't get the giant, windswept plazas in front of the stations. It seems like there's this communist tendency towards putting giant plazas in front of everything.

 

Mudkip, you answered your own question. If you are a totalitarian leader/apparatchik, you of course want monuments to yourself or your political group. Also, big spaces and grandiose facilities serve as a virtual schlong measurement tool for local and national pride. On a practical note, the big areas also serve as gathering places for the huge crowds of peasants/working class that converge during the lunar new year travel season.