In the evening, Chang'an and the East Palace, the prince Yuwen Weicheng, who had dinner, was talking about the train. Yuwen Weicheng heard from the princess that passenger trains were divided into four levels and no distinction, which was not suitable for the mixed quality of the high and low, and it was easy to be criticized for being "the world is declining", so he immediately refuted:

"What is the world's declining? Can a train be the same as a horse carriage or a ox carriage? Do you know how much the running cost of a passenger car? The train runs thousands of miles with a carriage. If the occupancy rate is too low, the farther you run, the more you lose."

"But...but this is too, too..." Wei Shi was a little lazy. This was not her idea, she was just a retelling.

"Nothing good, but you see, a railway has finally been built. The trains running on it are all about going back and forth. Just like people on both sides of the river crossing a single-plank bridge, they must drive at a staggered time, that is, according to the train schedule."

Yuwen Weicheng picked up a pen and wrote on a piece of white paper, saying, "Then, the departure time of each train is fixed, and there is little room for change, so there are only two options when the departure time is: drive and stop."

"For passenger trains, no matter the attendance rate, they have to leave at the time. Even if there are fewer passengers, they cannot hang a few less cars because there will be passengers at the stations along the way to buy tickets and get on the train."

"Pillow trains need to transport passengers to make profits, so they need to attract more people as much as possible to ride and serve more people as much as possible to ensure profits. Therefore, they need to attract passengers of different identities, but the fares must be divided into grades."

"The more expensive the train tickets, the fewer people can afford them. If the train ticket price is too low, it will lead to losses. Therefore, selling tickets in the fourth-level carriage can attract everyone to ride the bus while achieving the difference between high and low. What I am talking about here refers to how much money is."

Seeing that Wei wanted to speak, Yuwen Weicheng waved his hand: "Don't be anxious first, listen to me finish the words."

"The key to whether a system can be implemented for a long time lies in the cost of implementing it. Think about it, what cost will it incur if a train station sells tickets according to its status?"

"What is the magnitude of status? The size of an official position, the size of a title, the distinction between scholars and commoners, the ranks, the county view, etc., in the face of the ticket buyer who reported his own identity, how do you tell the train station to distinguish the authenticity of the identity the other party said?"

"Does the other party need to issue a certificate? Do you need to check it? How much time and how much manpower and material resources will be used to check it in order to sell a ticket?"

As Wei listened, he nodded silently. Seeing this, Yuwen Weicheng changed a piece of paper and continued to introduce to the Crown Princess that he had carefully formulated (approved) train passenger transport system.

"You see, using money to distinguish between high and low is simple and it saves a lot of trouble. If you have a fourth-level carriage, a wealthy family can naturally choose the first two levels. For ordinary people, choose the third or fourth level. This is actually a difference between high and low, but the evaluation standard is money."

"Secondly, besides ordinary passenger cars, there are special trains, aren't there any special trains? The so-called special trains are special trains that royal families, nobles, and senior officials take when traveling. Their escorts and luggage are all on the same train, and they do not need to be mixed with the common people."

"Similarly, officials who lead jobs also have special trains or special carriages to facilitate official duties."

"Also, when railway passenger transport is promoted, there will be one or two trains hanging on each route every day, which will facilitate officials who are not high or low in quality to go out for business, but they must buy tickets and get on the train and then come back to reimburse."

"In order to prevent people from getting off the train, when purchasing tickets for official carriages, you must hold the official certificate and buy tickets according to the number of people on the certificate. When you get on the train, each ticket will be one person."

"As for those low-ranking officials and officials who take the train to go out for business, if there is a seat in the official carriage, then buy a ticket with a certificate; if there is no seat, buy tickets for ordinary carriages and come back to reimburse."

"There are differences between officials (including nobles) and people, and their ranks are different. This is also a distinction between noble and humble state. If officials are not mixed with the people, how can the saying "the world is getting worse"?"

When Wei heard this, he looked at Yuwen Weicheng, hesitated for a moment, and asked a few questions.

If there are wealthy families traveling, in addition to their families, there are also servants and several groups, and there may be more than a hundred people, then it will be inconvenient to take the train.

The owner and his family naturally have to sit in first-class carriages, but what should the servants do? Not to mention whether the servants can buy tickets for the same train, even if they buy tickets, it is impossible to buy tickets for the first-class carriages.

This will lead to the master and servant taking different carriages on the same train, so that the servant will not be able to serve the master intimately.

Or, if an official takes a train to work or take a job, what should I do if I follow him in person? If there are ten masters and servants in total, but only three tickets can be bought, what should I do?

Furthermore, if an official travels and cannot buy tickets for first, second or third-class cars because the incident suddenly occurs, wouldn’t he have to sit in the fourth-class carriage and mingle with the civilians?

Yuwen Weicheng heard something in the Crown Princess' words, but did not say it out loud. He only emphasized one thing: railway transportation has special characteristics and implemented the "official (including nobles) standard."

A train that travels thousands of miles a day saves passengers a lot of time. Such services are more expensive, after all, time is sometimes really valuable.

If you want to be comfortable when riding, you can spend money to buy comfort.

If you can't afford the first or second-class car tickets, you can buy the third or fourth-class car tickets. If you have a lot of people traveling and don't have enough money, you have to travel together. Then don't take the train, ride a horse or take a horse carriage to your destination.

Except for military (military mobilization), officials (officials with certain ranks or above) and nobles (royals and people with titles) and special needs, other people do not have any privileges to allow trains to serve themselves specifically (free).

Railways are not like rivers. Trains traveling on railways require strict compliance with dispatch before they can pass. It is impossible to have privately operated trains, so they can easily take passengers on the railway.

Therefore, once a railway has set a train schedule, if other trains want to "stop the line", they must be dispatched as a whole to ensure that the line does not become paralyzed.

Only officials (including nobles) have such privileges. As for others, they have to honestly take ordinary passenger trains according to the train schedule.

These "other people" are people who do not have official positions, ranks, or titles. If you want to have a comfortable experience when taking the train, no problem, please buy tickets for higher-level cars.

Of course, the railway passenger transport system will not be too rigid, and the railway operator will also adapt. It will launch a "chartered car (car)" service. For traveling with large families, dozens or hundreds of people, you can make an appointment in advance, spend money to purchase chartered car services, and book a few cars (special car) to facilitate travel.

The premise is that you can afford money.

Hearing this, Wei knew what his husband meant. The questions she asked had a dual meaning. The husband's answer answered the questions she did not explain clearly: There is no preferential treatment for the aristocrats to take the train.

Passengers of noble and noble families (gentry) who are not officials or have not reached the rank of special trains or special carriages, if they want to take the train, they have to spend money to buy tickets.

You can buy any ticket, and sit in the carriage of the level.

Similarly, those philistine merchants can still sit in the first-class carriage as long as they are willing to spend money. At that time, if the gentry passengers feel that the same carriage as the philistine, they can't stand it and get off (no refund of the ticket), otherwise they will endure it.

The difference between high and low since the Wei and Jin Dynasties (the gentry is superior to others) is not feasible in railway transportation. Of course, there is still a difference between high and low, first of all, it is the "official-oriented" and then the difference between how much money is.

Yuwen Weicheng put away the paper and pen and smiled and said, "The bigger the official, the greater the privilege. This is a practice that has lasted for thousands of years. There is nothing wrong with it, so what is "the world is getting worse" is simply nonsense."

"But, but..." Wei couldn't accept the reality that the gentry wanted to squeeze in the train with the common people, but he didn't know how to argue. After thinking about it, he said, "But if you don't follow me when you go on a trip, your subordinates follow me, or you'll be in the same carriage, what should you do if something happens?"

Yuwen Weicheng asked: "Are you saying a robbery? Or is it that someone bullies the master, but the servant is powerless because he is in another carriage?"

Wei nodded: "Well, right, the wealthy families are rushing around when they travel. In addition to being pompous, there are also reasons to ensure safety. But when you get on the train, you are not a servant... uh... the master has no guards, if... what if..."

Yuwen Weicheng sighed: "You are right, so the passenger police need to maintain the order of the train and deal with general public security incidents. At the same time, there must be an escort to escort the car to prevent gangsters from hijacking. The cost of paying for this will not be low, but the passengers must be safe in any case."

"You have to know that 'safe' is also a service provided by trains. If a passenger buys a ticket to take the train, the railway operator has the responsibility to ensure the safety of the passengers and must not tolerate all kinds of bad behaviors. As for the robbers..."
Chapter completed!