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China’s bullet train tickets selling at snail’s pace
BEIJING: The sale of tickets for China’s new 250 kilometres per hour high-speed bullet trains has been slow to take-off.
This week 280 bullet trains, travelling at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, will be put into operation between the country’s major cities.
More then 500 high-speed trains will be in use by the end of this year with China expecting travel time between major cities to be slashed by up to 50 per cent.
Currently, express trains in China travel at an average of 115 kilometers per hour.
China Daily reported that there was nothing high-speed about the public’s response to the sale of tickets for the bullet trains.
Local media reported that just a handful of ticket collecting hobbyists, media and youngsters attracted by the train’s high speed had bought advance tickets for the new service.
Railway officials, however, said that the indifferent market reaction was consistent with passengers’ normal buying habits.
“Bullet trains are used on intercity routes for journeys that generally take less than three hours. When passengers are travelling such short distances, they seldom buy their tickets in advance,” an official said.
But that’s unlikely to be the sole reason for the slow ticket sales, according to China Daily. There was also the issue of price.
While bullet trains can travel at up to 250 kph and cut journey times by an average of 20-30 percent, the high-speed experience is also high-priced.
A seat on a bullet train costs about twice as much as one on the previous fastest service.
For example, a passenger travelling from Beijing to Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, would pay a minimum of 213 yuan (US$27.50) for the five-hour journey by bullet train. A soft-seat ticket for a regular service, however, would cost just 94 yuan but take 90 minutes longer.
Ian Jarrett
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