Can I Take My Bike on a China Train?

Bikes are banned on trains in China, including foldable types, but there are three ways for passengers to carry bicycles for a rail journey:
1. Use the railway consignment service
2. Deliver the bicycle by China Railway Express
3. Dismantle and box the bike to take it onboard as luggage if allowed
 Step 1: Fill in the consignment note and luggage label at the consignment office of the railway station with your ID certificate used for booking the train ticket like a passport; 
Step 2: Weigh the bike and issue consignment bill;
Step 3: Pay the bill;
Step 4: Claim your bicycle at the consignment office of the arrival station with the consignment bill and your ID certificate

Luggage Consignment Office at Xi'an Railway Station

The staff is moving the consigned luggage onto a train.

 Consignment Fee
The fee is not included in the ticket and is calculated by weight and journey distance together. For instance, if the bike is 55 pounds (25 kg), the consignment fare from Beijing to Shanghai is around CNY 50 with the distance of 900 miles (1,450 km).

Please note that if consigned as a complete bike, it will be charged as 55 pounds (25kg) even if it is less; if disassembled and put in a box, it will be charged by the actual weight.
 

Luggage Claim Office at Shanghai Railway Station

 Handle the consignment 1-2 days prior
If you are going to take a non-bullet train, usually your bike will be transported by the same one. But bullet trains do not have a luggage carriage. In that case, your bicycle will be transported by either an earlier or a later train. If the departure or arrival railway station does not operate non-bullet trains, you need to go to another station operating them to handle/ claim the consignment. Thus, we advise you to handle the consignment 1-2 days prior to your departure, so the bike will be there when you arrive. The arrival station keeps the luggage for 3 days for free.

 Other Tips:
1. The consignment office is usually by the entrance/exit of the railway station.
2. The consignment note and luggage label are in Chinese. If you do not know Chinese, show your bike and ticket information to the staff and ask them to fill them for you.
3. Your bike will be squeezed in the luggage carriage with other items and it’s quite normal some accessories like the bell, light, and pedals gets loose or lost and the bicycle gets some scratches. Passengers are advised to take apart the small accessories and wrap the rest. The consignment office offers wrapping service for a certain charge.
4. Insurance on the bicycle is accepted and the fare is 0.5% of its value.
 

China Railway Express at Shanghai Railway Station

China Railway Express (CRE) is actually a delivery company, shipping customers’ luggage by rail. In addition to the “station to station” service which has not much difference with the consignment service, the delivery company offers “door to door” service, which means they can pick up or deliver the luggage from or to your required address. It charges more than the consignment service. If you want to use the service, please log into the 95306.cn website or call the hotline 95306; however, they are all in Chinese, so you may need help from a Chinese friend.

Besides, if the bike is properly packed, other delivery companies can also ship it for you.
 First, you need to take the bicycle apart, even if it is a folding one. After being disassembled, you can put the small accessories in a hard box or a bike travel case/bag. The box or case/bag should be less than 63 inches (160 cm) by width, length and height.

However, the “bike” may still be rejected as not all stations allow this. So you are advised to confirm it beforehand with the staff of the departure station.

After getting onboard successfully, you may find the luggage shelf not big enough. If it is a seat carriage of a high speed train, you may put the “bicycle” in the luggage closet between two carriages or behind the last row of seats. If it is a seat carriage of a non-bullet train or a sleeper carriage, you may put it under the seat or berth.