With the sale of tickets for all trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway—the world's longest high-speed rail line—starting at 10:00 AM on December 20, speculation about its travel times, train schedules, ticket prices, and other related information has finally settled. However, netizens' discussions did not end there—after the announcement of the lowest fare of 865 yuan and the highest of 2,727 yuan for G-series trains from Beijing West to Guangzhou South, many netizens exclaimed that it was "too expensive" and said this pricing range did not take into account the actual income levels of the mainstream population in China.
Beijing to Guangzhou G-series tickets nearly double the price of regular trains, slightly lower than discounted flights
According to the fares announced by the Ministry of Railways, after the opening of the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, both D-series and G-series trains will operate on the line. D-series multiple units run at speeds of 250 km/h, while G-series high-speed trains reach speeds of 300 km/h. For example, the G801 train from Beijing West Station to Guangzhou South Station takes approximately 7 hours and 59 minutes at its fastest, with the lowest-priced second-class seat at 865 yuan, first-class at 1,383 yuan, special-class at 1,645 yuan, and business-class at 2,727 yuan. The second-class seat fare for D-series trains from Beijing to Guangzhou is 712 yuan.
For G-series trains from Beijing West Station to Wuhan, the cheapest second-class seat costs 530 yuan, first-class 847 yuan, special-class 1,080 yuan, and business-class reaches 1,671 yuan. The fares for D-series multiple units from Beijing to Wuhan are significantly lower than those for G-series trains, with second-class seats at 381 yuan; first-class at 608 yuan; special-class at 684 yuan; and business-class at 1,139 yuan.
The high-speed train from Shenzhen North Station to Beijing West Station is the G71, running once daily, taking 10 hours and 5 minutes in total. The lowest-priced second-class seat is 940 yuan, first-class 1,483 yuan, special-class 1,765 yuan, and business-class 2,927 yuan.
Compared to regular K-series and T-series trains, the ticket prices of the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway are nearly double. Taking Beijing to Guangzhou as an example, the lowest-priced G-series second-class seat on the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway is 865 yuan, while hard sleeper prices on regular trains such as the K599 and T201 are 443 yuan, and even soft sleeper prices are only 786 yuan, far lower than the G-series second-class seat price.
What about airfare for the same distance? Reporters found on electronic ticket booking websites that for flights from Beijing to Guangzhou on December 26, ticket prices ranged from 891 yuan (5.2 discount) to over 1,300 yuan, with fluctuations of no more than 100 yuan in the days before and after. Flights from Beijing to Wuhan are relatively cheaper, with the lowest price reaching 289 yuan (2.7 discount), about half the price of the G-series high-speed train. However, the above airfare prices do not include airport construction fees and fuel surcharges. Additionally, depending on the departure time and date, airfare can fluctuate significantly, whereas high-speed rail prices are relatively stable and almost never change.
Netizens complain of being "forced onto high-speed rail," saying high ticket prices don't consider national income levels
Although previously there were still some relatively cheap regular trains available besides the expensive Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, with its opening, many regular trains will be discontinued. According to reports, taking the 32 trains announced by the Beijing Railway Bureau as an example, most are D-series multiple units, including 3 Z-series direct trains and 2 K-series express trains that will be discontinued, involving cities such as Wuhan, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, and Taiyuan. After these trains are discontinued, passengers may have no choice but to take the high-speed rail.
Many netizens expressed dissatisfaction on Weibo about being "forced onto high-speed rail." A netizen from Xiaogan, Hubei, with the ID "IamLiuDaniuLiuXiaoniuLiuNiu" said: Forced onto high-speed rail. My beloved direct train is gone. Even the backup multiple unit is gone. From Xiaogan to Beijing, there are only two regular express trains left. "Chengmengkebatu" from Xi'an said: The fastest G87 from Beijing West to Xi'an North takes 4 hours and 40 minutes, with second-class seats at 517 yuan; the slowest G661 takes 5 hours and 58 minutes, with second-class seats at 515 yuan; special-class seats at 1k+, business-class at 1.6k+, which is very expensive, beyond imagination; and most importantly, why were the previously opened multiple units discontinued? Are they also going to be forced onto high-speed rail?
Some netizens also believe that the ticket prices of the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway are too high and do not consider the actual income levels of the domestic population. A netizen with the ID "yunlong02" said: The current consumption level can't support it, so why build such an expensive railway? Especially at this stage, long-distance, high-spec railways are not yet appropriate. High-spec railways should be built locally, with regular-spec railways built for long distances. When the people truly become wealthy, then a high-spec railway network can be formed.
A Weibo user with the ID "ChangfYangming" believes: The world's longest high-speed rail, the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, has opened, with ticket prices reaching an astonishing 800 to over 2,000 yuan. Higher than airplanes. As more and more high-speed rail lines open, many regular trains are discontinued. Clearly, the wealthy can freely choose between planes or high-speed rail, but for hundreds of millions of ordinary people, travel will become increasingly difficult. Discontinuing regular trains and monopolizing high prices to repay loans will backfire.
Renowned commentator and president of Feixiang Network, Xiang Ligang, believes: Improving service quality, strengthening safety management, removing the "showpiece" business class, and reducing first-class ticket prices will make high-speed rail very popular.
It's worth mentioning that despite complaints about the high ticket prices of the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, it hasn't affected its sales. As of 4:00 PM on December 20, reporters found on the Ministry of Railways' 12306 ticketing website that for the first G801 high-speed train from Beijing to Guangzhou, only one first-class seat remained, and business-class seats were already sold out. For the December 27 G71 from Beijing to Shenzhen, only 4 business-class seats remained.