Explainer | Land or air? The Post weighs up options as China Railway launches new high-speed sleeper train from Hong Kong to Beijing, Shanghai
- New overnight trains with sleeper carriages to take 12½ hours to Beijing and 11 hours to Shanghai
- Service will offer competition to airline travel, although flight times are shorter
High-speed overnight sleeper trains are to run regular services between Hong Kong and Beijing as well as Shanghai and back from June 15, with ticket sales to begin at noon on Wednesday.
China Railway said on Tuesday the new services would cut travel time by half and increase the number of seats to 600, replacing the suspended through train running between Hung Hom in Hong Kong and the two mainland Chinese cities.
It will take around 12½ hours to get to Beijing West railway station and about 11 hours to Shanghai Hongqiao railway station on the services, which will leave from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus.
The trains, which will run from Friday to Monday, will have ordinary seats as well as a range of sleeper cabins.
The Post here explains the details of the new services and compares them with alternatives for time and cost from Hong Kong to the two mainland cities.
1. What are the new sleeper trains?
The D910 service will leave at 6.24pm from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus and arrive at 6.53am the next day at Beijing West railway station – a journey time of about 12½ hours.
