Expat backs big shake-up of system for buying tickets

Before high-speed railways began to spread in China, Bob Covey, an expat working in Shanghai with his Chinese wife, often had a convoluted and prolonged journey back to his wife's hometown, Shaoxing in neighboring Zhejiang province.

They would return for a family reunion every year during Spring Festival. The trip, a two-hour car ride, could turn into an epic journey lasting eight or nine hours.

"Sometimes we intended to take the train but could only get tickets from Shanghai to Hangzhou and then had to take a long-distance bus from Hangzhou to home. We often got caught in traffic and the bus journey took us seven hours. It would have been only an hour by train," said Covey, a 51-year-old media consultant from the United States who relocated to Shanghai in 2010.

In addition to the length of the bus journey, he also had concerns about his safety when traveling on a bus.

"I didn't feel safe on the highways. A lot of times we were cut off by trucks, and some almost hit our bus. I thought taking a bus would be fine, but it turned out to be a mistake," he said.

Since the introduction of bullet trains to his wife's hometown, the journey back home has been transformed.

"High-speed rail has made the journey much more convenient. I felt more relaxed and confident that I would arrive safely," he said.

Although his journey is relatively short, Covey can readily appreciate the huge difference high-speed rail makes on long journeys. One thing he really welcomes is the strict enforcement of a smoking ban on the high-speed trains.

He recently took a slow overnight train from Guizhou province back to Shanghai, and nearly everyone on the train was smoking.

"It was a horrible experience and the journey seemed so long," he said. "I usually get sick after such a trip, and it's highly unhealthy. Luckily, there's a strict ban on smoking on high-speed trains."

When it comes to comfort, he also prefers high-speed trains to aircraft.

The train allows people to walk around, and the ride is so smooth that sometimes passengers don't even realize the train is moving.

It is possible to walk comfortably without the need to grab seats for support, he said.

"On a plane, it's difficult to get to the bathroom when the flight attendants are serving snacks because the snack trolley takes up the whole aisle," he said.

Trains allow him to mingle with strangers and provide an enjoyable traveling experience.

During a high-speed train trip back from Xiamen, Fujian province, last summer, he sat with three young Chinese men who taught him a card game.

"My Chinese was not good and neither was their English, but we had a lot of fun. That might never happen on an airplane," he said.

High-speed trains also provide a better opportunity to observe and enjoy the sights of the passing countryside.

"I've traveled to many parts of China on high-speed trains. It's nice to see the fascinating countryside, mountains and creeks, houses and gardens. In an airplane, you just see the clouds and watch in-flight movies," he said.

He also thinks modern railway stations, such as Shanghai Hongqiao, are better than many airports to navigate.

The public transport system in Shanghai is also a big plus in terms of overall convenience, Covey said. He grew up in Vermont, where people all had their own cars. Living in Shanghai is the first time he has had to rely entirely on public transport.

"The transportation infrastructure in Shanghai is brilliant and on the right track. The metro lines connect the airports, train stations and bus routes. It is the best metro system I have been on. Although I need to travel an hour across the city to get to the railway station, that doesn't bother me," he said.

The only problem he used to have with high-speed rail travel was that, as a foreigner, he needed to go to the railway station to buy a ticket. The process involved waiting in long lines to use a machine to read his passport. Last year, during Spring Festival, he waited in line for seven hours to buy a ticket.

"I first went to one ticket selling branch and gave up," he said. "The next morning we got up very early and waited in a huge line."

But the problem has been solved. Starting this year, once foreigners register their names and passports at a railway station, they can obtain tickets online.

"That was big news for me," he said. "This year, I bought the round-trip tickets so conveniently."