Have to make this clear from the start, this is a subjective comparison of two very different rail journeys. One a top class 4 hour Japanese Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima, Japan, the other a 36 hour older express train from Saigon to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Both in coach, both AC and both the top of their type for their country.
It is subjective as many ride the rails for the technical experience, then many ride the rails for the complete experience with less emphasis on the technical. Some just want to get from A to B without flying, or due to environment reasons.
I'm in the second camp even having had a technical working life, scenery and people feature more and more in my appreciation of rail travel, so there is a bias to this opinion piece.
First, HSR journeys are starting to lose their excitement for me having taken maybe 10 or 12. We chose the top option of Green class for our first Japanese Bullet train ride, it was all very civilised and worked like a dream. At a guess about 50/50 private and business travellers. It was a great example of moving from A to B without effort or drama, at high speed too. But I found the interior characterless, the effortless high speed movement slightly without interest. If it had been our first HSR journey then it would have been exciting and riveting, but that disappeared after about the 3rd HSR journey taken, maybe because that one was even smoother than the Shinkansen.
Does this beat flying? For me by miles as it is so simple and convenient, and in many cases city centre to city centre probably similar in time taken to fly but without the aggravation of airports.
My view HSR is ideally suited to people who travel for business or are in a real hurry, a fast rail people mover.
Two views of the train type we used. The exterior looks fabulous.
The train we boarded
Interior of Green class. High backs to the comfortable seats, creates a sort of cubicle effect
The Vietnamese express train was quite worn, the first thing we needed to know was 'were they comfortable' as we'll be sitting there for 36 hours. Yes, in the same way as older Amtrak coach seats are.
The car was full most of the time, it was a proper commuter train with seats being vacated and others boarding to fill most of them immediately.
The Vietnamese appear to be more talkative than the Japanese, there was always a burble of conversation during daylight. About 8 hours into the journey a cockerel boarded too, he occasionally joined in with his announcements.
About mid afternoon of the first day a debating society started in the centre of the car when a serious man with a loud voice boarded and started speaking to those around him, others joined in until about a dozen where in conversation on a regular basis, and others when some form of important point was made. Sometimes it turned humorous, then even more joined in.
There were us and another alternating 2-4 non Vietnamese in this car, we were treated in a friendly manner, often offered something to eat We came equipped and had enough of our own supplies to offer around too. Lots of smiles all round but close to no understanding as we speak about zero Vietnamese, most locals two to three words of English, but we all seemed to get along.
The ride was the opposite to the Bullet train, rock and roll sometimes violently, sometimes it was smooth for long stretches. I don't know the origin or age of the cars, I will post a photo or two when I find them.
The car attendant was visible the whole journey, I even saw him unblocking a sink at a station stop, dedication to his job and passengers. In the main the bathroom area was acceptable, not pristine.
Here's a photo of our car before we left Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), starting to fill.
By the evening of the first day people had settled into a routine, in a strange way everyone was included even if they didn't speak, just watched. The second day was even more relaxed, some started to leave the train but others boarded and seemed to fill the debating gaps, and not always the ones we guessed would. There was a woman passenger who often challenged the main debater, she was a powerful speaker indeed.
The cars allow people to be more sociable than the Shinkansen, whether that's a good or bad thing is for each to decide, but you will understand we preferred that atmosphere. Some of the scenery was superb, some was dull. Technically this train can't hold a candle to the Shinkansen trains, but it has other attributes which were superior. There is an onboard dinning car with real chefs preparing food mainly for the very regular food carts that came through, it was also possible to sit in the dining car to eat but the number of seats is limited dues to such a large kitchen.
Would this suit the business user I don't think so, is it better than the LD buses, probably. Is it better or worse than the Shinkansen trains, that depends on your needs, but for us these original style trains are hard to beat, so much life is played out in the open and friendships are fairly easily made as you are in each others company for quite a while.
Exterior of our car nearest to the camera, it looks different to the one behind, perhaps older?
Our heroic car attendant
What's your preference?
Both in coach, both AC and both the top of their type for their country.
It is subjective as many ride the rails for the technical experience, then many ride the rails for the complete experience with less emphasis on the technical. Some just want to get from A to B without flying, or due to environment reasons.
I'm in the second camp even having had a technical working life, scenery and people feature more and more in my appreciation of rail travel, so there is a bias to this opinion piece.
First, HSR journeys are starting to lose their excitement for me having taken maybe 10 or 12. We chose the top option of Green class for our first Japanese Bullet train ride, it was all very civilised and worked like a dream. At a guess about 50/50 private and business travellers. It was a great example of moving from A to B without effort or drama, at high speed too. But I found the interior characterless, the effortless high speed movement slightly without interest. If it had been our first HSR journey then it would have been exciting and riveting, but that disappeared after about the 3rd HSR journey taken, maybe because that one was even smoother than the Shinkansen.
Does this beat flying? For me by miles as it is so simple and convenient, and in many cases city centre to city centre probably similar in time taken to fly but without the aggravation of airports.
My view HSR is ideally suited to people who travel for business or are in a real hurry, a fast rail people mover.
Two views of the train type we used. The exterior looks fabulous.
The train we boarded
Interior of Green class. High backs to the comfortable seats, creates a sort of cubicle effect
The Vietnamese express train was quite worn, the first thing we needed to know was 'were they comfortable' as we'll be sitting there for 36 hours. Yes, in the same way as older Amtrak coach seats are.
The car was full most of the time, it was a proper commuter train with seats being vacated and others boarding to fill most of them immediately.
The Vietnamese appear to be more talkative than the Japanese, there was always a burble of conversation during daylight. About 8 hours into the journey a cockerel boarded too, he occasionally joined in with his announcements.
About mid afternoon of the first day a debating society started in the centre of the car when a serious man with a loud voice boarded and started speaking to those around him, others joined in until about a dozen where in conversation on a regular basis, and others when some form of important point was made. Sometimes it turned humorous, then even more joined in.
There were us and another alternating 2-4 non Vietnamese in this car, we were treated in a friendly manner, often offered something to eat We came equipped and had enough of our own supplies to offer around too. Lots of smiles all round but close to no understanding as we speak about zero Vietnamese, most locals two to three words of English, but we all seemed to get along.
The ride was the opposite to the Bullet train, rock and roll sometimes violently, sometimes it was smooth for long stretches. I don't know the origin or age of the cars, I will post a photo or two when I find them.
The car attendant was visible the whole journey, I even saw him unblocking a sink at a station stop, dedication to his job and passengers. In the main the bathroom area was acceptable, not pristine.
Here's a photo of our car before we left Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), starting to fill.
By the evening of the first day people had settled into a routine, in a strange way everyone was included even if they didn't speak, just watched. The second day was even more relaxed, some started to leave the train but others boarded and seemed to fill the debating gaps, and not always the ones we guessed would. There was a woman passenger who often challenged the main debater, she was a powerful speaker indeed.
The cars allow people to be more sociable than the Shinkansen, whether that's a good or bad thing is for each to decide, but you will understand we preferred that atmosphere. Some of the scenery was superb, some was dull. Technically this train can't hold a candle to the Shinkansen trains, but it has other attributes which were superior. There is an onboard dinning car with real chefs preparing food mainly for the very regular food carts that came through, it was also possible to sit in the dining car to eat but the number of seats is limited dues to such a large kitchen.
Would this suit the business user I don't think so, is it better than the LD buses, probably. Is it better or worse than the Shinkansen trains, that depends on your needs, but for us these original style trains are hard to beat, so much life is played out in the open and friendships are fairly easily made as you are in each others company for quite a while.
Exterior of our car nearest to the camera, it looks different to the one behind, perhaps older?
Our heroic car attendant
What's your preference?
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Just like people fly sometimes and drive other times depending on the trip and how much time they can spare, I'd like to have the options of:
