Beijing Guangzhou High speed train

The Beijing-Guangzhou High Speed Railway, short for Jingguang High Speed Railway, has been in full operation since December 26, 2012.

As an important north-south rail line of China high speed railway, it runs from Beijing West Railway Station to Guangzhou South Railway Station with a total length of 2, 298 km (1, 428 miles). It is the longest high speed railway in the world. The speed was designed to be 350 km/h (217 miles/h), but it is down to 300 km/h (186 miles/h) in real operation currently. Its operation has greatly cut the duration between the two cities to about 8 hours.

High Speed Locomotive

Beijing-Guangzhou High Speed Railway Map (Click to enlarge)

Jingguang High Speed Railway is one of the most important passenger transportation arteries from north to south, connecting Bohai Economic Circle, Central Plains Economic Region, Wuhan Metropolitan Area, and the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. It consists of four sections, including Beijing-Shijiazhuang-Zhengzhou (Jingshizheng), Zhengzhou-Wuhan (Zhengwu), Wuhan-Guangzhou (Wuguang), and Guangzhou-Shenzhen (Guangshen). In the future, the high speed railway from Shenzhen to Hong Kong will be open, and it will be easier to travel by high speed rail from Beijing to Hong Kong.

Currently, Jingguang High Speed Railway goes through 28 cities, including Beijing, Baoding, Dingzhou, Shijiazhuang, Gaoyi, Xingtai, Handan, Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang, Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Luohe, Zhumadian, Xinyang, Xiaogan, Wuhan, Xianning, Chibi, Yueyang, Miluo, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Hengyang, Chenzhou, Shaoguan, Qingyuan, and Guangzhou. Some also reach Shenzhen North. It is also expected to run to Hong Kong in 2019.

Schedule
In daytime, there are four high speed services running daily from Beijing West to Guangzhou South with duration of 9 hours 17 minutes to 10 hours 4 minutes; one of them even runs further to Shenzhen North. For the vice versa route, four high speed services are available daily, with duration of 8 hours to 9 hours and 54 minutes; one of them starts from Shenzhen North.

In night time, there are seven pairs of high speed sleepers running between the two cities and four pairs of them go further to Shenzhen North. They depart at around 20:00 - 20:25 and arrive at about 06:30 -07:13 the next day, with duration of 10.5 – 11 hours. Free dinner is offered onboard. In addition, one passenger is allowed to book a whole compartment on these carriages, and women-only compartments are set for female passengers' convenience. However, they only depart every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Ticket Fare

From	To	Second Class (CNY)	First Class (CNY)	Business Class (CNY)	Soft Sleeper (CNY)	Beijing West	Shenzhen North	936.5/ 709	1479.5	2923.5	880	Guangzhou South	862/ 709	1380	2724	Wuhan	520.5	832.5	1642.5	Zhengzhou East	309/ 214	495	977	300	Shijiazhuang	128.5/ 86.5	206.5	407.5	170

Sections

Second Class Seat

Jingshizheng High Speed Railway:
This section has been open since December 26, 2012. It has a length of 693km (431 miles) going across 14 stations, including Beijing West, Zhuozhou East, Gaobeidian East, Baoding East, Zhengding Airport, Shijiazhuang, Gaoyi West, Xingtai East, Handan East, Anyang East, Hebi East, Xinxiang East, and Zhengzhou East. With its operation, the travel time has been reduced to 1 hour 10 minutes from Beijing to Shijiazhuang and 3 hours to Zhengzhou.

Zhengwu High Speed Railway:
Zhengzhou-Wuhan High Speed Railway has been in operation since September 28. 2012. The travel time has been reduced from 4 hours 28 minutes to 1 hour 56 minutes from Wuhan to Zhengzhou. Additionally, it takes only about 5 hours from Beijing to Wuhan via the high speed rail. It runs for 536km with 8 stations, consisting of Zhengzhou East, Xuchang East, Luohe West, Zhumadian West, Minggang East, Xinyang East, Xiaogan North, and Hengdian East.

Wuguang High Speed Railway:
This part has been open to traffic since December 26, 2009. It is 968km (601 miles) in length via 16 stations, including Wuhan, Xianning North, Chibi North, Yueyang East, Miluo East, Changsha South, Zhuzhou West, Hengshan West, Hengyang East, Leiyang West, Chenzhou West, Shaoguan, Yingde West, Qingyuan, Guangzhou North, and Guangzhou South. Travel time has been shortened from 11 hours to 3 hours 16 minutes from Guangzhou to Wuhan via this high speed railroad. What’s more, the shortest travel time is 2 hours 2 minutes from Guangzhou to Changsha and 1 hour 11 minutes from Changsha to Wuhan by high speed service.

Guangshen High Speed Railway:
This line from Guangzhou South Station to Shenzhen North Station have been in use since December 26th, 2011. The trains run about 102km (63 miles) in 35 minutes for the whole distance. There are 6 stations along this section, including Guangzhou South Station, Qingsheng Station, Humen Station, Guangmingcheng Station, Shenzhen North Station, and Futian Station (under construction). The ticket fare is CNY99.5 for a first-class seat and CNY74.5 for a second-class seat. At the same time, the current Guangzhou-Shenzhen Inter-City Trains remain in operation.

Special Facilities

First Class Seat

There are power supplies for seats of any class.
WiFi is available onboard. The WiFi signal named CHR2 is unencrypted and it will be connected soon.
A business class seat is comparable with a first class seat on a plane. These seats can be adjusted 90 degrees for reclining. They can also be rotated. Each business class seat is equipped with an independent electronic screen and reading light.
Coffee is provided onboard.

Tips
Considering economic issues, it is better to choose the high speed service for a comparatively short journey and take a flight for a long journey. For example, the rail journey from Beijing to Zhengzhou only takes about 3 hours and the price for a second class seat is CNY310 (usually cheaper than a flight). However, flight is recommended for the trip from Beijing to Guangzhou since the duration is only about 3 hours and the airfare is always discounted; if traveling by high speed rail, it takes at least 8 hours and costs CNY862 for a second class seat. Therefore, Wuhan can be considered as the cut-off point along Jingguang high speed railway for passengers choosing between flight and rail.

Other High Speed Rail Lines from Beijing:
Beijing-Guangzhou Flight: Real-time schedule and ticket booking.