High-speed sleeper trains to depart Hong Kong at night, arrive in Beijing, Shanghai in morning from June 15
- China Railway announces that through train to the two mainland cities will be replaced and upgraded with high-speed services
- Chief Executive John Lee welcomes new arrangement and expresses gratitude to central government and China Railway for their ‘care’
High-speed sleeper trains will run overnight between Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai from this month in a new measure Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said will boost integration with mainland China.
The news effectively spells the end to the historical cross-border intercity through train services after more than 110 years of operation.
The service has been suspended since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020.
High-speed trains operating a return service will leave from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus and will only take around 12½ hours to get to Beijing West station and 11 hours and 14 minutes to pull into Shanghai Hongqiao station.
The overnight trains, running from Friday to Monday from June 15, will have a sleeper service.
The Beijing-bound train will depart at 6.24pm on each day and arrive in the capital at 6.53am the next day. The service to Shanghai will leave at 7.49pm and arrive there at 6.45am the next morning.
City leader Lee welcomed the announcement and said he was grateful to the central government and China Railway for their “care”.
“It will drastically save travelling time and only take a half-day to arrive, which will also help people save on hotel costs.
“According to the latest arrangement, the train will stop over in Hangzhou, Hebei and so on, which will allow [more] travellers to come to Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus directly.”
Lee added that customs clearance would be more convenient through the existing “co-location” checkpoint between Hong Kong and the mainland.
“It has significant meaning in fostering the people-to-people, business-to-business exchanges and integration between Hong Kong and the mainland,” he said.
Lee added he had tasked the Transport and Logistics Bureau, and rail operator the MTR Corporation, with implementation of the new measures.
The MTR Corp said fares on the Beijing-bound train D910 and its return train D909 on Saturday, June 15, and on Monday, June 17, were pegged at HK$1,031 (US$132) for upper deck sleepers, HK$1,163 for lower deck sleepers and HK$937 for ordinary seats.
Sleeper fares will be about 12 per cent higher on Sunday, June 16 on Beijing-bound train D910.
Fares will be HK$1,163 for an upper deck berth, HK$1,306 for a lower deck one. The standard fare for a seat on the train will remain at HK$937.
For the Hong Kong-bound train D909, the upper deck sleeping berth will cost HK$1,284, the lower deck one will be priced at HK$1,448 and will also retain the HK$937 standard seat cost.
The D908 service to Shanghai and its return D907 service will make its debut on June 15.
There are more types of fares on these services, with the lowest HK$682 for an ordinary seat, HK$878 for an upper deck sleeper and HK$987 for a lower deck one.
A premium upper deck sleeper will cost HK$1,613, with a lower deck one priced at HK$1,821. These prices will apply to both June 15 and 17 for the Shanghai-bound trains.
Fares on the Shanghai-bound D908 and its return D907 service on June 16 will start from HK$682 for an ordinary seat. An upper deck sleeper will cost HK$1,009 and a lower deck sleeper will be priced at HK$1,141.
The price for a premium upper deck berth will be HK$1,887 and HK$2,128 for a lower deck one.
Tickets will go on sale from noon on Wednesday, June 5 at the website 12306 China Railway and its 12306 app.
Prices for services after June 17 will be announced on the website.
“The latest arrangement provides an alternative option to travel between Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai which foster the exchanges between the regions in various aspects,” Jacob Kam Chak-pui, the MTR Corp’s CEO said.
Two high-speed return services are at present available between Hong Kong and Beijing every day, but without sleeper carriages.
Shanghai has similar arrangements. The two routes – Hong Kong to Beijing and Hong Kong to Shanghai – take about eight hours from start to finish.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said he expected ticket prices for the overnight services to be in line with the cost of an airline ticket.
“As the prices of train tickets are more stable than air tickets, it is believed that taking the trains to Shanghai and Beijing will be more popular,” he said.
Chui also highlighted that the availability of plane tickets to Beijing and Shanghai was always limited because of the number of people who travel there on business – but added that demand for overnight trains was also expected to be high.
“It is estimated that the demand for train tickets will exceed the supply during summer,” he said.
Gary Zhang Xinyu, a lawmaker, agreed the new trains would attract businesspeople as they could cut down on accommodation costs and save time, especially over weekends.
“It is the right time to launch the new arrangement which may also facilitate local tourism and the economy,” Zhang said.
