Are K-prefixed trains green trains?

[Savannah]

K-prefixed trains are classified as fast trains, which include some ordinary express trains, commonly referred to as "green trains". Introduction to green trains: Green trains, with their prairie green exterior, are a colloquial term for Chinese railway passenger cars painted green with yellow stripes and lacking centralized air conditioning power supply; the car body is typically painted green with yellow stripes. Before the widespread adoption of air-conditioned coaches and the speed-up of China's railways, "green trains" were the standard appearance of passenger trains in China. Development history of green trains: Since the 1990s, with the advent of air-conditioned coaches and the speed-up of China's railways, railway authorities have continuously increased efforts to phase out and upgrade "green trains"; with each major speed-up of China's railways, there has been an update and upgrade of railway passenger cars, leading to the gradual replacement of "green trains" by more advanced air-conditioned coaches with higher construction speeds.

[VanReid]

I've taken many trains starting with K, which are classified as ordinary express trains, but green-painted trains can't be generalized. The old green-painted trains without air conditioning left a deep impression—riding one in summer could leave your clothes soaked through. Today's K-series trains are different, with carriages mostly being red or blue air-conditioned coaches, offering much more comfortable seating. However, if you purchase the cheapest hard seat tickets, the seating arrangement does resemble that of the old green-painted trains. On the 12306 ticketing platform, you can see the air conditioning indicator. K-trains with air conditioning blast plenty of warm air in winter, a far cry from the experience of traveling in green-painted trains wrapped in a heavy coat back in the day.

[VonMiles]

Last time I took my kid on a K-series train, the child pointed at the green-painted train on the platform and asked if that was ours. I quickly explained: 'Look at our ticket – it says 'New Air-Conditioned Hard Seat', and our carriage is the red one. Most green trains are slow, stopping at every station, like those with purely numerical train numbers. Although K-series trains aren't as fast as high-speed rail, they basically all have air conditioning. I specifically checked railway information – there might only be about a hundred purely green trains left nationwide now, mostly operating on branch lines to small stations. When buying tickets, pay attention: tickets marked with 'New Air-Conditioned' definitely won't be those old green trains that are freezing in winter and scorching in summer.'

[LeKaleb]

This matter needs to be clarified starting from the carriage colors. K-prefixed trains are called express trains, with carriages that are 90% orange-red or blue air-conditioned coaches, featuring brown velvet seats. The authentic green-skinned trains have military green exteriors, non-air-conditioned carriages with small fans on the ceiling, and their train numbers are now purely four-digit. Last week at Huaihua Station, I saw a genuine green-skinned train with windows that could still be pulled up, and its train number was 4248. Nowadays, the environment on K-prefixed trains is much better than in the early years. The K522, which I often take, has charging ports and food trolleys, although the speed is indeed not fast—300 kilometers takes a leisurely 5 hours.