Asias tourists catching the railway buzz

May 22, 2011

A train which can run at speeds up to 300 km per hour goes on a trial run in Shanghai on May 11, 2011. AFP picHONG KONG, May 22 While China is currently spending untold billions on creating a fast-train network that will one day link all the countrys major cities, it appears that the appetite for train travel has spread among the regions tourists no matter where it is they want to travel.China is this year alone spending 745.5 billion yuan (RM345.94 billion) on expanding its train network, which it hopes will cover 13,000 kilometres by 2012.The country is currently running a one-month test of the Beijing-Shanghai leg of the network, which the government claims will cut travel between the two major cities by five hours.And already the increase in rail options is being felt throughout the transport industry in China, with two of the countrys airlines China Southern Airlines and Lucky Air cutting flights between the cities of Wuhan and Nanjing after the recent introduction of bullet trains linking the cities offered faster and cheaper options for locals and tourists alike.A recent survey on Chinas Sina.com the countrys leading news portal found that 66 per cent of respondents claimed they would rather catch a high-speed train than an airplane.And thats the sort of news that has resulted in Rail Europe deciding to this week open its first flagship store in Asia.Rail Europe (http://www.raileurope.com) which markets itself as the world leader in European Rail distribution claimed year-on-year growth of 34 per cent in 2010 (RM585.11 million) as demand for train travel in that region developed.And it says demand from Asian tourists continues to be most impressive.Bookings in Hong Kong were up by 48 per cent from January to April this year, with a 141 per cent increase in April alone, according to Philippe Kirsanow, Rail Europes sales director for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore a! nd Taiwa n.He said in a statement the Hong Kong store would help the company expand through mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam all markets Rail Europe says are increasingly turning to train travel due to increased services and competitive ticket prices. AFP