China Train Types

Found a neat summary of Chinese trip identifiers…

Train types			Trips
CRH			D1~D999
Intercity Highspeed Train			C1~C999
Direct Express Trtain		Non-Stop	Z1~Z999
Express Passenger Train		Direct	T1 ~ T298
		Stopping	T301 ~ T998
Fast passenger train		Direct	K1 ~ K398
		Stopping	K401 ~ K998
Ordinary passenger train	Ordinary passenger express train	Stops in more than three districts	1001 ~ 1998
		Inter-District	2001 ~ 3998
		Stopping	4001 ~ 5998
	Ordinary passenger traffic	Direct	6001 ~ 6198
		Stopping	6201 ~ 8998
Temporary passenger trains		Direct	L1 ~ L498
		Stopping	L501 ~ L998
Provisional Tourism Train		Direct	Y1 ~ Y498
		Stopping	Y501 ~ Y998

Source: http://12bbt.5d6d.com/forum-40-1.html &  http://www.kepu.net.cn/gb/technology/railway/railway_manage/200401190049.htm 14 April 2009

Destination Identification

Carriage destination and train number are usually found on the center of passenger cars,

The Origin: Wulumuqi

The Desitination: Beijing (West)

Train number: T70/69

Trains

You can classify some standard Chinese trains based on the train types.

• The +200km/h CRH EMU’s
• DMU’s or electric loco’s, coupled with double decker coaches (in use where passenger movements are high), and
• regular carriage stock hauled by diesel or electric traction.

Chinese High Speed EMU’s

The CRH are the back bone of the current 5 year development plan for Chinese railways. There are presently 4 types of CRH in operation

CRH1

Constructed by Bombadier, Max 200km/h, 2006-

• Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway (Hong Kong) 19 Units
• Shanghai Railway Bureau 16 Units
• 2 Subtypes
  • CRH1A, 8-car consist, 40 units
  • CRH1B, 16 car-consist, 20 units
  • CRH1E, under construction, a sleeper version

CRH2

Constructed by Kawasaki, Max 250 km/h (2a/2b/2e), 350km/h (2c), 2005 -

• 88 Units in operation
• 4 Subtypes
  • CRH2A, 8 car consists
  • CRH2B, 16 car consists
  • CRH2C, 8 car consists, 300km/h
  • CRH2E, 16 car sleeper

I beleive that the CRH2E is the only high speed EMU sleeper in the world. It runs the Beijing-Shanghai route.

CRH3

Design by Siemens (German ICE3), 350 km/h, 2008 -

• Currently the fastest unit in production
• Feb 2009 – 9 Units, est 57 units by December 2009
• 8 car consists

Runs on highest speed lines,

• Beijing to Tianjin, and
• Beijing to Shanghai (when complete)

CRH5

Design by Alstom, 250 km/h Pendolino, 2006 -

• Runs predominately in the North East
• 51 trains in service
• 8 car consists
• and it Tilts

There was a CRH4 on paper only, in fact this project became the CRH2C

DMU’s

DMU’s are, obviously, used on non-electrified lines. Given the expansion of the overhead in china, they can only be found in outlying regions with higher traffic or some special areas like the Great Wall of china near Beijing.

They are a relatively rare sight.

NZJ1&2 , 160km/h, 2001-2003

• only operate in the Nanning & Wuhan Railway Bureau’s
• 8-10 car consists + 2 motor , double deck

NDJ2, 200km/h,2008-

• Used for tourist trains between Beijing and the Great Wall
• 7 carriage + 2 motor
• 9 units constructed
• Sometimes referred to as CRH6, as it is classed in the ‘Harmony’ set of vehicles by CNR

Carriages

The bulk of CNR is run by your everyday loco hauled passenger trains.

The classes or carriage are easy to identify, they are simple sequential numbers.

The types generally refer to the speed they travel.

Stock in service…

18

Class 18

• International Services, Kazakhstan, Mongolia & Russia
• 120 km/h
• Older Green Cars usually with corrugatated sides
• most date from the 1960’s
• newer models based on Class 19 luxury design or higher
• Almost all are YW sleepers and CA diner
• Uses a red circle with stars as opposed to the standard red rail symbol
• 

  18 class roundel

Class 21

• Built 1953-1961
• Non-Airconditioned
• Green

22C

Class 22,23

• Built 1959-1994
• Bulk of the Fleet during the 1990’s
• up to 120 km/h
• Non-air conditioned

Class 24

• Built 1980-88
• Air Conditioned version of the 22
• Rare

Class 25A-

• Built 1979-90’s

Current Production Stock…

25B

Class 25B

• 140 km/h
• Non Air Conditioned
• Designed to replace 22 series

25G

Class 25G

• 140 km/h

25K

Class 25K

• 160 km/h

25T

Class 25T

• 160 km/h

25T(P)

Class 25T(P)

• Built for Tibet Railway
• 160km/h
• Pressurised
• Other fittings for the Tibetan plains environment (eg: oxygen)
• Overall design also incorporates the ability to operate in isolation for many days with extra food and diesel.
• Side note: An original design requirement  of the Queensland Rail ‘lander cars was that they could be self sustained for up to 2 weeks should a flood occur.

25Z

Class 25Z

• 160 km/h
• Has 4 classes of interior seating

T series…

• The T suffix is for “tekuai” which roughly translates as “very fast”

25DT

Class 25DT

• 200 km/h
• Will eventually replace most 25 classes in production

Luxury

Class 19K & 19T

• Luxury Cars
• 160/200 km/h
• RW sleepers and CA Buffet
• Very similar to European 1st class carriages, about 16-20 pax
• 2 Berths per cabin, some have individual showers and toilets
• Used predominantly on Z & some T series train. Market  is  wealthy visitors and western tourists.
• Some older 19 Class still run these were built in East Germany during the 1980’s
• One night on a RW19Tis roughly AU$180.

Travel Classes

For the majority of travel there are 2 broad classes roughly equivalent to the European 1st and second class. But as it is a communist country with little difference between the middle class most people might place it as “Second” and “Second and a half” class.

Sleepers, compartments

RW Corridor

RW 4 bunk cabin

• RW, ruanwoche, Soft Sleepers
  • 4 berth cabins

YW Corridor

YW 6 bunk cabin

• YW, yingwoche, Hard Sleepers
  • 6 berth cabins

Sitting, all open saloon

RZ Soft Seat

CRH Soft Seat

• RZ, ruan zuo che, Soft Sitter
  • 2+2 arrangement
  • Generally Fixed Seating, non-reclining
  • Groups of 4 non-reversible seating or reversible groups of 2 newer models
  • Open Saloon
  • ~95 per car
• RZ2, 2nd Class  Soft Sitter (25c,25Z, 25DT  carriages)
  • Same as RZ, however they do have Reclining Seats
  • ~75 per car
• RZ1, 1st Class Soft Sitter (25c,25Z, 25DT  carriages)
  • Same as RZ2
  • ~70 per car
• RZT, Top Class Soft Sitter (25Z, 25DT  carriages)
  • 2+1 arrangement & 2+2 compartments
  • Open Saloon & 4 compartments
  • 42 per car
  • Shanghai area


YZ Old Style



YZ Hard Seat



CRH Hard Seat

• YZ, yingzuoche, Hard Seat
• 2+3 seating, fixed

Others

CA Dining



CRH Dining

• CA, canche, Dining
• XL, xingliche, Luggage
• KD (FD, TZ), fadianche, Generator
• UZ, youzhengche, Postal Vehicles
• GW, gongwuche, Government Car

S Prefix, Double Deck Carriage

Identifying the carriage from the outside

On the side of all carriages is the identification number.

1. The Class of Coach. RW is the abbreviated form on the Chinese pronunciation of 1st class
2. The model of carriage.
3. The coach number, a 5-6 digit identifier, reiterating the design model and class.
4. The class of coach in Chinese
5. The top operational speed of the coach

See Also

• Trainnet: Car Index
• Car Guide: Japanese Blog
• Hasea BBS: Car sightings
  • Apologies to the last link for using the images in the above thumbnails

Jinan onwards

Working on a Jinan rail map. Mapping the direct destinations from Jinan.

Joho maps give a good overview, but the detail isnt evident.

china-mor also have detailed maps, if a little busy.

Jinan is a VERY busy station, it runs a 24 hour operation, its of the main  way to shanghai so all night trains from northern china pass through.

Overnight to save some pennies…

http://www.cnvol.com/train-4/en-937.htm

K172/173, Qingdao – Jinan – Xiian, 1857 – 1028+1, 1179km,

K208/205, Qingdao – Jinan – Chengdu, 2104-0531, or

D157, Jinan to Zhengzhou, 1822 – 2333, 668km

Of course this would missout entirely on Shanghai.

on to Shanghai

Jinan is 400km into the Beijing-Shanghai railway.

The new dedicated high speed railway should be finished by 2013.

This is also domain of the CRH 2E running the D301/302 & D305/6 services, unfortunately they run non-stop from Beijing.

• 1400km in 14hours,
• 2130-0730

CRH2E Formation

The 2E has a fixed 16 carriage formation.

• ZE, Soft Sitter, 2+2 Seating
• WR, Sleeper, 4 berth Cabin
  • Cabins have individual TV’s fitted
• CA, Dining
• Capacity 520 sleeping, 110 sitting 630

CRH2E Quirky Testing

When the VSOE ran again in the 1980’s from London to the Sea they tested the stability of the train by putting a glass of water in the drivers cabin, dont spill it during dinner. To test the CRH2E they used a cigarette.

They apparently sat at the table, lit a cigarette whilst the train was underway, no ash fell on the table so it passed the test! (http://www.jfdaily.com/news/xwsh/200812/t20081217_481240.htm)

Jinan to Shanghai

T105 is the overnight service starting in Jinan and running to Shanghai

T105 | Jinan-Shanghai | 2110-0613 | 968 km

T105 is entirely comprised of YW hard and RW soft sleepers possibly with a CA buffet.

Incheon Ferry – China

Incheon has quite a few international ferry destinations.

International ferry Site (Korean)

All sites warn of congestion at the terminals and to arrive 2-3 hours before departure.

Most lines have 3 weekly departures.

Shortest journey is 12 hours, longest is 25hrs.

Almost all are car ferries.

Fares range from AUD$100 for basic economy to AUD$360 for a double bed.

Weidong company have an english site.

Only problem is where to go.

The Shangdong region has the most frequent services to Qingdao, Weihai & Yantai

dep Incheon 1900

arr Qingdao 0900

Qingdao is the bigger and better connected of the 3. Accessible 3 times a week with the Weidong company

Suifenhe

Major trade point. Much of the tourist flow is from Russia to China to obtain goods. Easiest way to get across the border is by Bus, around 10 services a day to both Ussurisky and Pograniyychy.

There is up to a 3 hours time zone difference between the two countries

Harbin – Suifenhe

1 Overnight train a day. More local trains.

Harbin

A city with an interesting and turbulent history. Many of the pictures of the city are spectacular.

One of a few places in China you will find churches. The russian inhabitants built a large Russian Orthodox Church, recently restored.

The urban planning of Harbin is guided in the Harbin Urban Planning Bureau. Interestingly they list their guiding ideology as Socialism directed by a socialist market economy. The website leads me to think that the bureacratic decsions are driven by some quite artistic and visionary people rather than the contrast of this seen in the west.

Quite amazing for a city of only 2.5 million. You would expect planning to encompass transport, water, rates etc, but the Urban Planning Bureau is just that, planning and maintaining the urban landscape.

Even more amazing is their 50 year plan, Ive seen 20, even 25 year plans in Australia, but to project out to 50 is quite and acheivement. Although their urban planning has a few 1000 years on our own. I wonder if other parts of China and even Europe plan to this extent?

From the Transport perspective the master city plan designates the urban area as a 1 hour commute or 100km radius for the city center. Having such a long term vision means that they have room to grow, the city is quite compact, much of it in walking distance.

The Harbin subway (or metro) is under construction, 3 planned lines each around 15-20km long with stops around 1km, closer in city areas. The 1st line was constructed along a 10km Civil Defense Tunnel build some time in the last 20 years. It the orange ‘L’ shape on the map. Total length is ~16km, stops every 800m, no details on who built the rollingstock thou.

The Zhijie line has already opened.

They do have a regional bus and train network, that is a little hard to track down even in chinese.

The metropolitain area also, reportedly has Trollybuses, Buses and Ferries servicing the city

Bus Timetable

Transportation Bureau

Beijing – Harbin

Again many trains per day. With the upgraded lines you also have vastly different running times.

D Series (CRH) Trains: 8-9hrs | 1200km

T & Z Series: 10-11hrs | 1300km

K Series: 15hrs+ | 1400km

almost all Hard berths cost about AUD $50-$55 per night no matter which class

Beijing

View Larger Map

Beijing West Station.

Big city, with cranes, dirt and concrete all over the place. Pollution and the weather isn’t helped by Beijing’s location cradled by mountains.

Wuchang to Beijing

Around 1000km as the crow flies, it takes around 10 hours to get to Beijing from Wuchang. You can stop in Zhengzhou, however I plan on stopping here on the backswing. Plenty of direct trains.

Train Number	Origin	Dep Wuchang	Arr Beijing West
T98	Kowloon	04:41:00	15:41:00	Day Train
T62	Kunming	23:19:00	11:00:00	Late Night, Daylight from Zhengzhou
K472/K473	Kunming	17:14:00	09:37:00	Overnight
Z38	Wuchang	21:03:00	06:59:00	Overnight
Z12	Wuchang	21:09:00	07:05:00	Overnight
K158	Zhanjiang	15:33:00	06:10:00	Daylight to Zhenzhou, Overnight
T88	Guiyang	00:01:00	11:52:00	Late Night, Daylight from Zhengzhou

Most of these trains originate from the southern sector of the Jingguang Line. This line is the major north-south line. The eastern Jingjiu line carries much less long distance traffic, avoiding major centers.

The northern sector of the Jingguang line has much more traffic than the south. Much of it is between Zhenzhou and Beijing where the transit time is a reasonable 5-6 hours. It also carries significant suburban traffic between a host of smaller centers along the route.

Interesting note, this part of China conforms with Central Place Theory with wonderful precision. The things you remeber from 1st year uni!

Optional Extras

I have an options map to chart possible and rumored variations. There are many more small scale deviations, this is just a general pointer to how to get from A — B.

Orange parts are off limits. There are also some one-way crossings. China to India is an easier transit than India to China. Iran has similar border restrictions.