Food takes a back seat on high-speed train from Guangzhou to Beijing

The new high-speed train between Guangzhou and Beijing made its public debut yesterday. It cut travel times between the cities from 24 hours to about eight, but most of the conversation on board was less about the speed of the train than the sluggish food service.

The world's longest high-speed train service, it was scheduled to arrive at Beijing West Railway Station at 5.59pm but was delayed by an hour due to snow in Henan , just before arriving at Zhengzhou East Railway Station, which reduced the train's top speed to 185km/h for a good hour in the afternoon.

With about 1,000 passengers on board, there was only one dining carriage with 38 seats and four attendants scrambling to heat lunch boxes in four microwave ovens at lunchtime. Disgruntled passengers had to line up for hours for lunch boxes costing 15 yuan (HK$18) to 45 yuan.

The Post journalists had to wait for 2-1/2 hours, only getting lunch at around 2.40pm after being spotted by railway officials anxious to avoid poor reviews.

Many other passengers were still queuing for lunch at 3.30pm.