Beijing - Shanghai High-Speed Trains

High-speed trains run frequently between China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Opened in 2011, the Beijing – Shanghai High-Speed Railway is one of the most important and popular rail lines in China. There are more than 40 pairs of bullet trains running on this route every day. They operate at Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao railway stations with a travel time of about 4 to 6 hours. In addition, 3 pairs of non-bullet overnight trains still operate on this rail line, taking about 11 to 20 hours to cover 1,300 kilometers.

 

History of Beijing - Shanghai High-Speed Railway

The history of Beijing - Shanghai Railway, or Jinghu Railway can be traced back to a century ago. It was built on the existing Beijing - Shanghaiguan, Tianjin - Nanjing and Nanjing - Shanghai railroads, and was put into service in 1912. After several repairs and renovations in the last century, this railway totaled a length of 1,463 kilometers. In 2006, Beijing - Shanghai Railway was electrified and is capable running a bullet train with the top running speed of 250 km/h.

The proposal and planning of the Beijing - Shanghai High-Speed Railway started in the early 1990s, when the Beijing-Shanghai Railway were overloaded. In 2008, construction of Beijing - Shanghai High-Speed Railway started. It was put into service in 2011 after five years of construction. Since then, the train journey between Beijing and Shanghai has been shortened from 15 hours to only 5 hours!

With several year's of technological innovation, The operating speed of Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway reached 350 km/h. On June 26, 2017, China's standard EMU "Fuxing" train made its debut on this high-speed railway, with the maximum runnning speed of 400 km/h.

Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Train Timetables

Beijing – Shanghai bullet train schedules and timetables.

Shanghai-Beijing High-Speed Train Timetables

Beijing – Shanghai High-Speed Train Ticket Prices

Shanghai – Beijing bullet train schedules and timetables.

Beijing-Shanghai Regular Overnight Train Timetables

Please note: +1 means the train arrives the next day.

How to Book Beijing to Shanghai High-Speed Train Tickets

There are several ways of buying China train tickets. Booking tickets with a reliable travel agency like China Travel is recommended. China Travel makes train ticket online booking available to you to save you time, hassle, and money. All inquiries will be handled by our experienced and professional travel advisors to ensure you get the best service.

Beijing–Shanghai Trains vs Flights

For a high-speed train, it is better to book a higher standard of ticket for a more comfortable trip. A second-class seat is the most economical, while first and business-class seats are of a higher standard and are more expensive.

For an overnight sleeper train, it is better to book a sleeper ticket. A soft sleeper is more comfortable and offers more privacy while a hard sleeper meets the basic requirements for sleep. It is difficult to travel on a hard seat for a journey that’s longer than 6 hours, especially for an overnight trip. 

Beijing is only 2.5 hours from Shanghai by flight. Several pairs of flights are available between the cities daily. Although taking a flight is faster than taking a high-speed train, it takes a longer time from dowmtown to the airports and you need to leave more time for check-in. Basically speaking, there is not much difference in the travel times using either a high-speed train or a flight.