CRH from Xi’an to Chengdu (High-Speed Rail)

by Allan See Toh on April 28, 2018 with No Comments

Ever wondered how its like to take a CRH from Xi’an to Chengdu? In this video, we document our CRH journey (西成高铁) from Xi’an (西安)(Shaanxi Province) to Chengdu (成都)(Sichuan Province) during March-2018.

China Railway High-speed (中国高速铁路)

China Railway High-speed (CRH) is the High-Speed Rail (HSR) service operated by China Railway.

China has been aggressively expanding its rail network, especially its high-speed rail network, in the past decade. As of writing this post, the Xi’an – Chengdu High-Speed Rail (西成高铁) is one of the newest addition to its high-speed rail network.

Xi’an – Chengdu High-Speed Rail (西成高铁)

Train type: Hexie Hao, 和谐号
Operational Date: December 6, 2017
Distance: 658 km
Top Speed: 250 km/h
Duration: About 3 – 4.5 hours (express/regular service)
Terminal station: Xi’an North railway station (西安北站) and Chengdu East railway station (成都东站)
Stations along the way: Xi’an North, Epanggong, Huyi, Foping, Yangxian West, Chenggu North, Hanzhong, Ningqiang South, Chaotian, Guangyuan, Jianmenguan, Qingchuan, Jiangyou North, Jiangyou, Mianyang, Deyang, Guanghan North, and Chengdu East.

We had the opportunity to take a return journey on the Xi’an – Chengdu High-Speed Rail during our March-2018 to Xi’an. And we were quite impressed by it.

Both the stations and trains were relatively new and comfortable. The train ride itself is similar to what we’ve experienced on Japanese JR trains (Shinkansen); fast, comfortable and mostly clean. Though it must be said that Chinese aren’t as particular as the Japanese when it comes to keeping the cabin noise low. Given that the Xi’an – Chengdu line is relatively new (operational in Dec2017), hopefully things will be as well maintained moving forward. And it helps that tickets prices are reasonable.