High Speed Railway Stations
With the development of high speed rail in the last decade, massive stadium-sized and large train stations especially high speed railway stations have emerged. China’s high-speed railway stations are composed of old and new stations. The old high-speed railway stations, such as Beijing West Railway Station, are upgraded from the existing stations to support the high-speed railway project. The new stations are passenger or freight stations, such as Guangzhou South Station, being used for new lines(Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway and later built) designed to run at speeds of more than 200km/h.
Features of High Speed Railway Stations
- More Elevated Stations: Modern high-speed railway stations adopt the form of bridge instead of road in a large area, which makes the viaduct occupy a large proportion of the high-speed railway station.
- Good Environment: The facilities at the new station are new and complete, and the waiting rooms are clean, spacious and bright.
- Modeling Beautiful: New high speed stations focus on artistic form and aesthetic appearance, which in big cities are usually grand and beautiful.
- Remote Location: New railway stations are mostly built in development zones, poor areas and on the other side of the city, as opposed to the old stations.
- Large-scale: New high-speed railway stations are generally larger than old ones, with more platforms and tracks than old ones.
- New Facilities: Most of the stations have intelligent ticket checking systems that recognize paper tickets as well as identification cards.
The Name of China’s High Speed Railway Stations
In China, any national railway station is only named after the “place name (name of administrative district, scenic spot or road) or place name + azimuth name”. The first station in each city is always named after the city name, and the next new station is named after the city and the direction.
One thing you need pay attention to is that the station name printed on the ticket is in Chinese Pinyin instead of English, so it’s important to know the Chinese Pinyin of station, especially the the next new station named after the city and the direction. Below are the Pinyin of the direction for your reference.
- Dong(东) – East
- Nan(南) – South
- Xi(西) – West
- North(北) – North
Layout of High Speed Railway Stations
Usually, a high speed railway station has one or two squares and a station hall, with ticket office, entrance, waiting hall, exit, boarding/disembarkation platform, subway station and so on. The waiting hall of high-speed railway stations in big cities is usually large, and there are many people queuing to get tickets during the holiday season, so try to arrive at the station in sufficient time in advance.
- Ticket Office: Located beside the entrance. Self-service ticket machines and ticket counters are both available.
- Entrance: Located between one square to the main hall. You can enter the station hall with valid ticket and identification such as your passport.
- Waiting Hall: Some stations have waiting halls on the first or second floor or both, and some have several separate waiting halls. After entering the station, please read the LED screen to find your waiting hall.
- Boarding/disembarkation Platform: Located on the first floor. After you get through the ticket check at waiting hall, you can get to the Boarding/disembarkation Platform.
Facilities in Station Hall
The facilities at the high speed railway station especially the newly-built ones are new and complete, and the waiting rooms are clean, spacious and bright. With more advanced facilities and service, passengers will have a better travel experience.
- Inquiry Counter: Every railway station has an information counter. Some employees can speak simple English and you can turn to them when you have some problems.
- Barrier-free Elevator: If you’re traveling with children or carrying heavy luggage, the barrier-free elevator can greatly help you. Both going upstairs or downstairs available.
- Dining: You can find some fast food restaurants, such as KFC, McDonald’s or Dicos as well as some Chinese restaurants that sell noodles, dumplings, steamed stuffed bun and so on. It’s more expensive than that in cities.
- Stores and Shops: You can find some snacks, drinks or some local souvenirs at these stores and shops. Book store is also available at some stations.
- Drinkable Water: There is enough boiling water near the washrooms in each waiting hall. Do not drink tap water.
- Toilets: Most toilets at railway station are Chinese style (squat), but there are a few accessible western-style toilets. You need to prepare your own toilet paper.
- LED Screen: In the station hall, there is a large LED screen, showing the train information of the day, such as train number, departure time, arrival station, corresponding waiting hall, corresponding inspection gate, etc. Some high speed railway stations show the information in Chinese and English.
- Seats: All waiting halls are equipped with many seats for passengers to wait and rest. You’d better choose a seat near your ticket gate so that you can queue up to check in. During peak seasons, seats will be in short supply.
- Charging Plugs: Almost every high speed railway station in China has a plug-in charger that you can use to charge your mobile phone. Some chargers also come with different types of USB cables.
- Baggage Deposit: Different stations charge different rates – some by weight, some by quantity or volume.
- Smoking Area: The smoking area is usually located near the washrooms in the waiting hall. Please go to the area for smoking.
- Kids Corner: At some train stations in China, there are also entertainment facilities for children.
Convenient Transfer
Due to the large number of transit passengers, many high-speed railway stations, such as Guangzhou south railway station and Shenzhen north railway station, have opened fast transfer services. Passengers who have purchased connecting train tickets at the corresponding station can enter the waiting hall in the opposite direction through the designated express (express) transfer channel and transfer to the next train without leaving the station.
Major China High Speed Railway Stations
- Xi’an North Station
- Zhengzhou East Station
- Kunming South Station
- Shanghai Hongqiao Station
- Chongqing West Station
- Guiyang North Station
- Hangzhou East Station
- Guangzhou South Station
- Chongqing North Station
- Chengdu East Station
- Nanning East Station
- Changsha South Station
- Lanzhou West Station
- Beijing South Station
- Tianjin West Station
- Shenzhen North Station
- Harbin West Station
- Hohhot East Station
- Xining Station
- Urumqi Station
- Changchun West Station
- Jinan West Station
- Fuzhou South Station
- Shenyang North Station
- Harbin Station
- Guilin North Station
- Hong Kong West Kowloon Station
- Huangshan North Railway
- Luoyang Longmen Station
China Speed Train Tours
China has one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world. In recent years, the high-speed trains are much more convenient and faster to get to the hot tourist destinations like Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin, Chengdu, Kunming and more. There are many world-class scenery along the Chinese railway that cannot be appreciated by plane. Sometimes, it is the fatest way to get around. The following China speed train tour packages are carefully designed catering to your different needs and interests. Enquire about one of our pre-designed speed train tour packages or just tell us your China train plan to customize the kind of your own.
6 Days Shanghai-Suzhou-Hangzhou Tour by Speed Train
25 Days South China Minorities Discovery by Speed Train
See more China Speed Train Tours.
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