China Railways

I’ve read other reviews of this trip & seen that several people have had a similar negative experience to me-I was told that a rep would meet me at Gia Lam station to give me my train ticket an hour before the journey-this didn’t happen; I couldn’t find the rep. I tried calling the 24 hour helpline-no one answered! Eventually, with help, I managed to work out that a woman working in the shop opposite the station knew who was supposed to deliver my ticket. She told me to wait. After waiting to just before the train was due to go she took me over to the station and got the woman behind the ticket counter to issue me with a ticket! I was then able to catch the train. This process was extremely stressful and confusing, to say the least. 12go Asia need to make sure this particular procedure (getting ticket for train from Gia Lam) is greatly improved for future customers.

Very comfortable carriage. Border crossings were quick.

While these journeys always have the potential for confusion it was easily avoided by the 12Go representative. He was early, sought us out and managed our departure through to the arrival at our compartment, and gave a hand with the luggage. The trip aligned with expectations - old rail equipment, challenging border crossings (2) and train running late; but this is just part of the experience and was easily put into the past when we travelled by the high speed trains ex Nanning. We strongly recommend 12Go Asia.

A very money conscious way to get to and from Hanoi, the stops were a bit of an inconvenience but they are essential border control measures so it was understandable! The facilities were standard, the toilets could’ve been slightly improved and the socket next to my bed didn’t work but the bed was comfy!

On the email I received said there would be a representative there to provide the ticket, I arrived well before an hour ahead and no one showed up, I was lucky enough after alot of confusion the staff gave me a ticket. As previously mentioned in other comments the carriages are worn down compared to the Vietnamese trains. There was only one power socket that didn't work and the beds uncomfortable. The border crossing is very long and painful, don't expect to sleep on the train. That said the staff try to help as much as possible.

Very helpful staff on train. Very comfortable compartments. We did however end up in Guilin main station and not Guilin West as on the ticket, but that suited us just fine

Ticket agent was at the station before I arrived about one hour early. He even found me before I started looking for him. Since the company does a group ticket, you never actually get a ticket and he just shows your ticket to the train conductors. It seems there is a bunch of confusion right before your board the train but it ends up ok. The train ride itself is ok. The 1st class sleepers are more run down compared to the Vietnam railway 1st class sleeper, but still comfortable especially since the condition of the rails on the Chinese side are much better. There was only one power socket in our cabin to be shared with 4 people, and it DIDN'T WORK. so make sure your devices are charged. Also during the time the train is crossing the border, you are NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE RESTROOM. Make sure you go to the toilet before the train stops at the border because it will be HOURS before you will be able to use it again. The border crossing itself was one of the most inefficient and horrible border crossings I've ever experienced. As stated before, you have to get out of bed and get all your bags and exit the train to get stamped out of Vietnam, then get back on the train. The train will sit for an hour still after everyone has returned. Just enough time to fall back asleep and then you again have to take your bags and exit the train to enter China. There is no e-channel at this Chinese border crossing. The train arrives at the Vietnam border gate before 1am and then at the China border gate around 4am. Only after you return to the train after entering China do you have a chance to sleep for a few hours without interruption. If you are hoping for a relaxed sleeper train trip as the other sleeper trains are in Vietnam, this is not it. But it's still an interesting experience, but not sure if I would want to repeat it.

The trip was very easy, the tickets were at the desk in the station and the train ran to time. The beds were very comfy.

Receiving the voucher and meeting the representative at Hanoi went smooth. I was concerned about meeting the representative at Hanoi train station waiting room due to some comments that they were late but our representative was their one hour prior to departure as advised. Why my score is not a five because of the hokey ticketing process. Instructions say meet the representative and exchange your voucher for the tickets. This not the case. Our tickets are a group of seven so it is not organized. You have to get on the train with a group ticket the conductor hands out the boarding card then everyone in the group is arguing over which room and bed they want. Not everyone in the world is polite and courteous so this process doesn’t work well. I don’t understand why they just don’t buy the individual tickets and hand them out in the waiting room. I’m guessing they get a discount by buying a group ticket so good for them but not good for the traveler.

Train itself was comfortable and convenient. However, the staff responsible of passing me my ticket at the station did not have my details and did not speak English very well. He didn't have my details and when I asked if he was working with 12go, he said no which caused a lot of confusion for me and some unnecessary panic. It took him a few calls to finally confirm that he was supposed to pass me the ticket.

Train was ok, a little old and worn down, but sheets were clean. Staff was very nice and helpful (even though they only know Chinese). In total it will take around 5 hours crossing the border! HUGE DOWNPOINT: the guy bringing us the tickets appeared 20 minutes before the train left, though the ticket stated he will be there 2 hours (!) before. The other passengers were already entering the train so we only made it last minute. We had a little panic attack thinking we wouldn't make the train and therefore not leaving the country before the visa expires.

The beds were fine, also the toilets en restrooms. Around 01.00 en 04.00 we have to go out of the train before check our pasports en lugage. We didn"t know that. So we sleep not so much this night.