There
are three types of coaches on the Qinghai–Tibet Railway: the first
class soft-berth sleeper, the second class soft-berth sleeper and soft seat
coaches.
The second
class soft-berth sleeper is also known as hard sleeper, although
both the soft sleeper and hard sleeper are soft and comfortable. The
main difference between soft sleeper and hard sleeper is that in hard sleeper,
the compartment has 6 beds with 3 levels while the soft sleeper has 4 beds with
2 levels. Moreover, the hard sleeper does not have a door in the compartment,
which can make it noisy at times. It just provides basic beds and
quilts.
The soft
sleeper, the best on the train, has a television, a full-length mirror,
independent luggage storage space, a coat rack and the door can be locked.
There are only 64 such berths, hence get sold out faster.
The soft seat
coaches are like airline seats.
There are two
toilets available at the end of each car. On one side is an Asian toilet and on
the other side is a Western toilet. In general, they are kept clean and toilet
paper is available.
The
totally-closed Tibet train is equipped with air-conditioning, supercharging
system, oxygen supply, altitude display as well as other advanced facilities.