Some high-speed rail tickets are already higher than the lowest price of air tickets, and the fares of 4 high-speed rail lines will rise next month

Recently, the topic "Four high-speed rail fares will rise" became a hot search topic and sparked heated discussions.

On May 2, the official website of China Railway 12306 issued a price adjustment announcement, announcing that starting from June 15, the price adjustment for the Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway, the Wuguang Section, the Shanghai-Kunming High-speed Railway, the Shanghai-Hangzhou Section, the Shanghai-Kunming High-speed Railway, the Hangchang Section, and the Hangzhou-Ningbo Section of the Hangzhou-Shenzhen Railway The fares of EMU trains running at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour and above will be announced for optimization and adjustment. Judging from the published fare list, some fares have increased by up to nearly 20%.

In this regard, many netizens complained that "it feels like everything is going up"; some commented that after the price increase, will it be easier to grab tickets?

What is the reason and logic behind this high-speed rail fare adjustment? How to balance fare increases and people’s travel costs? Red Star News reporters interviewed relevant experts.

Train fares for the four lines have increased by more than 19%

This is the largest increase in high-speed rail fares in recent years.

According to the fare list published on the official website of China Railway 12306, the second-class ticket price from Wuhan to Guangzhou South will be 553 yuan from June 15, 2024, while the previously announced fare was 463.5 yuan, an increase of 89.50 yuan, or 19.31%. ; The fare table also shows that fares for other sections of the Wuhan-Guangzhou High-speed Railway have increased by the same amount.

At the same time, the Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Express has increased the current second-class fare from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East from 73 yuan to 87 yuan, an increase of 19.18%; the Shanghai-Kunming Passenger Express has increased the fares of its routes in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan. For example, the current second-class fare from Hangzhou East to Changsha South is 405 yuan to 485 yuan, an increase of 19.75%. The current second-class fare from Hangzhou South to Nanchang West is 257 yuan to 308 yuan, an increase of 19.84%. The current fare for a second-class seat from the east to Ningbo is RMB 71 to RMB 85, ​​an increase of 19.72%.

Wuhan-Guangzhou Passenger Line, Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Line, Hangzhou-Changchun Passenger Line, and Hangzhou-Ningbo Passenger Line all stated in their announcements that they will implement fare discount and floating strategies based on market conditions, distinguishing factors such as seasons, dates, time periods, seats, etc., and the implemented fares will be announced The ticket price is the upper limit, and the 55% discount is the lower limit.

The reporter noticed that this price increase is the largest increase in high-speed rail fares by the railway department in recent years. The most recent price increase was in June 2021. The maximum ticket price for a second-class seat on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail was increased from 598 yuan. to 662 yuan, an increase of 10.70%.

Regarding this price adjustment, Xu Guangjian, vice president of the China Price Association and professor of the Institute of Public Finance and Public Policy of the School of Public Administration of Renmin University of China, told Red Star News in an interview that high-speed rail fares have been liberalized in the past few years and are left to the independent high-speed rail operating companies. Pricing, this price adjustment falls within the scope of independent decision-making by the enterprise. In his opinion, the situation of high-speed rail lines in different places is different. Several high-speed rail lines subject to this price adjustment are relatively busy and there is a certain supply and demand pressure. Therefore, operating companies hope to guide supply and demand through the price mechanism.

Li Hongchang, deputy director of the China Transportation Economics Research Center at Beijing Jiaotong University, previously said in an interview with the media that flexible fares should be based on market competition and passengers having multiple choices. Only by introducing a competition mechanism can we ensure that the price adjustment process is not simply a process of monopoly influence and profit grabbing.

Regarding this price adjustment, the four passenger lines Co., Ltd. Wuhan-Guangzhou, Shanghai-Hangzhou, Hangzhou-Changchang, and Hangzhou-Ningbo stated in the announcement that the purpose of the price adjustment is to further improve the quality of high-speed rail operations, meet the different travel needs of passengers, and differentiate between seasons according to market conditions. , date, time period, seat category and other factors, establish a flexible pricing mechanism, and implement a differentiated discount floating strategy with rising and falling prices.

Public information shows that railway fares have been set by the railway transportation management department for a long time, and the fares have remained "unchanged" for more than 20 years. Until February 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on Reforming and Improving Passenger Fare Policies for High-Speed ​​Railway EMUs", and railway transportation companies gained independent pricing power for high-speed railway EMU passenger tickets for the first time.

The China Railway Corporation, which has obtained the power to price high-speed rail, only made small-scale adjustments to the maximum price limit for EMU trains with speeds of 200-250 kilometers per hour on high-speed rail lines such as the southeast coast and Wuhan to Yichang in April of that year and July of the following year, allowing tickets to The lowest price dropped to 65% off the price limit, and there was no large-scale price adjustment across the country. Until the end of 2019, group companies such as Shanghai Bureau and Nanchang Bureau, which are affiliated to the State Railway Group, issued price adjustment announcements one after another, and high-speed rail fares were floated across the country.

The fare ratio of Wuhan-Guangzhou and Hangzhou-Changchun high-speed rail is higher than the lowest air ticket price on weekdays

According to the official website of China Railway 12306, on May 7, the lowest ticket price for a second-class high-speed rail ticket from Wuhan to Guangzhou South Railway Station was 463.5 yuan, while the lowest ticket price for a ticket from Wuhan Tianhe Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport on the same day was just over 300 yuan. In the next 7 days, the lowest air ticket price will even be less than 200 yuan.

Currently, the second-class high-speed rail fare from Hangzhou East to Changsha South is 405 yuan, and the lowest fare for the flight from Hangzhou Xiaoshan to Changsha Huanghua Airport in the next 7 days is less than 300 yuan.

As for the high-speed rail fares between some destinations on weekdays are already higher than civil aviation fares, Xu Guangjian said that due to the convenience and high punctuality of high-speed rail rides, many people use high-speed rail as their first choice for travel. Many people prefer high-speed rail when traveling within five or six hours. Due to reasons such as habit and convenience, they are less likely to compare prices.

On social platforms, there are many discussions similar to "I would rather take a 6-hour high-speed train than a 2-hour flight." Some netizens said that including the time to and from the airport, waiting for security check, and taxiing, the high-speed train takes five or six hours. The total duration of the trip is about the same as a two-hour flight. But compared to flying, which requires cumbersome security checks and cutting off communication with the outside world during flight, high-speed rail is more convenient and comfortable.

"Compared with civil aviation, high-speed rail is more guaranteed in terms of time, which is one reason why people are more willing to choose high-speed rail." Xu Guangjian said.

In Xu Guangjian’s view, with the development of my country’s high-speed rail, civil aviation and high-speed rail are increasingly referring to and influencing each other. Not only in terms of price, high-speed rail also continues to benchmark civil aviation in terms of travel service experience.

Xu Guangjian said that although the travel services of high-speed rail have been significantly improved, there are still many aspects worth learning from civil aviation. For example, functions similar to civil aviation frequent flyers and different membership levels will be launched, and passengers who frequently take high-speed rail will be provided with greater discounts and better services.

In addition, Xu Guangjian believes that compared with civil aviation, the fluctuation of high-speed rail fares is generally limited, and the price change cycle and frequency are not as close to the market as civil aviation. This aspect can be further studied and improved.

For this reason, Xu Guangjian called on the railway department to properly retain low-price trains such as general express trains in order to meet the needs of low- and middle-income people. At the same time, high-speed trains should implement tiered fares based on the number of stops and operating speed.

Regarding the price increase trend of popular high-speed rail lines, Li Hongchang said that for monopolies, price increases must be subject to government supervision. As a state-owned enterprise, the China Railway Group should also be responsible for social welfare. Xu Guangjian also pointed out that although the increase or decrease in high-speed rail fares is a company behavior and there is no requirement to hold a hearing, since it is related to the people's livelihood, it is recommended to publicly solicit opinions and make public announcements before price adjustment.

Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Zhang Yanliang and intern Wang Yaqi