Trains between Hong Kong and Shanghai

Any direct trains between Hong Kong and Shanghai?

2019 update – Since January 2019, there are now direct high-speed trains between Hong Kong and Shanghai. See our more recent blog entry on this subject here

There is one train between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is a slow train that takes over 24 hours and it only runs every other day. These trains use older equipment. This is not a very convenient way to complete this route and tickets are difficult to get.

Instead we recommend taking a modern Chinese bullet train departing from Shenzhen or Guangzhou. There are multiple bullet train departures each day and they cover this route in less than half the time. On weekends, more trains are added. The additional weekend trains are the modern D overnight sleepers.
Shenzhen is just over the border from Hong Kong and can be reached easily by subway or by bus. Watch these videos about commuting between Hong Kong and the Shenzhen north railway station.

Trains between Shenzhen and Shanghai

There are six pairs of daytime high-speed (D) trains daily between Shenzhen and Shanghai with a travel time of about 11 to 12 hours. The trains depart in the morning and arrive in the evening. These trains depart from the Shenzhen north station in Shenzhen and from the Shanghai Hongqiao station in Shanghai. However, for daytime travel, we suggest a quicker route. It is preferable to take the train from Guangzhou. More about this below.

On weekends (Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday) additional trains are added. These are four pairs of overnight D trains. These are modern and comfortable trains. The trains depart in early evening and arrive in early morning. These trains are quite convenient as you do not waste daylight to travel and you save on the cost of a hotel room for that night. Watch this video and see what D overnight trains are like:

Shenzhen – Shanghai train timetable (overnight trains)

Ticket prices
D overnight trains (prices are not fixed)
Soft sleeper: ¥590
Deluxe soft sleeper: ¥1000
Second class seat: ¥478.5

A quicker option: Guangzhou

In addition to Shenzhen, there are faster daytime bullet trains between Shanghai and Guangzhou south station. To travel between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, it is better to go through the Shenzhen north station as there are many bullet trains between Shenzhen north and Guangzhou south.
These trains take about 30 minutes. Even adding the time required to transfer, it is much faster to transit through Guangzhou than take the Shenzhen-Shanghai trains as one can do the Guangzhou-Shanghai route is just about 7 to 8 hours.

Guangzhou – Shanghai train timetable (bullet trains)

Ticket prices
G bullet trains
Business class: ¥2492.5
First class: ¥1302.5
Second class: ¥793

May 2017