15x fast motion video from China Highspeed Railway cockpit (Yunnan-Guizhou)

I live in Kunming at one end of this railway.

Reportedly, there are two classes of one-way ticket, normal (879元) and first (1475元). This is not very competitive with air travel, which is about the same cost or less. To give you some idea, for just over the first class price you can fly direct return from Kumming to Australia, in the same amount of time!

In addition, Kunming's high speed rail station (which according to Beijing government geopolitical planning is set to become a hub for long distance South and Southeast Asian connections over the next decade or two) is about one hour south of town, which makes it just as slow to access as the airport for most residents.

Therefore, the biggest winners of this infrastructure will be those located in areas that are not particularly close to major airports along the intermediary stations. Possibly prices will drop.