High-speed rail travel in China isn't the cheapest, and some routes from Shanghai are about to get even more expensive with one major south-eastern line raising fares by up to 50 percent.
From April 21, price adjustments will come into effect on D-train dongche services on the high-speed rail line from Shanghai to Shenzhen, which passes through Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fuzhou and Xiamen. Gaotie prices will remain unchanged.
The cost of a first class D-train ticket from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East will rise from 59RMB to 89RMB, an increase of just over 50 percent. For second-class tickets, there will be a 14 percent rise from 49RMB to 56RMB.
From Shanghai to Ningbo, D-train first-class tickets will see a 30 percent price increase, with second-class tickets going up by 13 percent. From Shanghai to Shenzhen, first-class tickets will go up by 52 percent and second-class tickets by 18 percent.
And the reason for the price hike? According to China Economic Net, the southeast coastal high-speed rail line serves 818,000 passengers a day and makes an average of 622 trips, with an average load of over 80 percent. And yet despite the high usage, some rail transport companies are supposedly still losing money.
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