Beijing - Shanghai Overnight Sleeper Train

Currently, there are 5 or so pairs of overnight sleeper trains running between Beijing and Shanghai.

2 bullet trains depart from Beijing Railway Station and 1 departs from Beijing South to Shanghai Railway Station with the distance of 903 miles (1,454 km) and a duration of around 12 hours. With a prefix D, they are also called D trains. From Shanghai to Beijing, there are also 3 D trains available. 

Apart from the above D trains, 2 pairs of normal speed trains T109 / T110 and 1461 / 1462 are also in service between Beijing Railway Station and Shanghai Railway Station, taking 15 - 22.5 hours but costing less. 

Overnight High Speed Train between Beijing and Shanghai

(Last Update on Jun 20, 2025)

Train No.	Departure - Arrival	Travel Time
1461	12:01 - 06:45+	18h44m
Z281	19:21 - 08:44+	13h23m
T109	20:03 - 11:02+	14h59m

(Last Update on Jun 20, 2025)

Train No.	Departure - Arrival	Travel Time
D17	19:13 - 07:31+	12h18m
D9	19:36 - 08:00+	12h24m
D11	21:15 - 09:45+	12h30m
D5	21:21 - 09:27+	12h6m

See more Beijing Schedule
 (Last Update on Jun 20, 2025)

Train No.	Departure - Arrival	Travel Time
1462	12:15 - 10:00+	21h45m
T110	16:30 - 08:32+	16h2m
Z282	19:16 - 09:52+	14h36m

(Last Update on Jun 20, 2025)

Train No.	Departure - Arrival	Travel Time
D18	18:42 - 07:09+	12h27m
D10	21:05 - 09:24+	12h19m
D12	21:13 - 09:40+	12h27m
D6	21:15 - 09:26+	12h11m

See more Shanghai Schedule
Notes:
1.  "+" indicates the second day.
2. The above timetable is for reference only. Please search for the real-time schedule via the search box on the page top.
 (Last Update on Jun 20, 2025)

Nos.	Soft Sleeper	Hard Sleeper
1461/1462	CNY 476.5 / USD 67	CNY 304.5 / USD 43
Z281/Z282	CNY 497.5 / USD 70	CNY 325.5 / USD 46
T109/T110	CNY 497.5 / USD 70	CNY 325.5 / USD 46

(Last Update on Jun 20, 2025)

Nos.	1st Class Sleeper	Second Class Seat
D9/D10	CNY 828 / USD 116	CNY 385 / USD 54
D5/D6	CNY 825 / USD 116	CNY 383 / USD 54

Stopovers along the way: Langfang North, Yangcun, Tianjin West, Jinghai, Qingxian, Cangzhou, Botou, Dongguang, Wuqiao, Dezhou, Jinan, Taishan, Ciyao, Yanzhou, Zoucheng, Tengzhou, Zaozhuang West, Xuzhou, Suzhou [Anhui], Bengbu, Chuzhou North, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou in Jiangsu, Kunshan.

Overnight Normal Train between Beijing and Shanghai

 Obviously, it takes a long time between the two cities by overnight sleeper trains, so there are some tips you may need to know:

1. Purchase a sleeper. Although it costs more than a hard seat or a second class seat, it will be more comfortable. The environment for seats is not as good as that of sleepers. And during holidays, seat carriages, especially the hard seat carriages will be rather crowded. If you choose a sleeper, you can have a good rest at night and travel around energetically next day. But please note the sleeper tickets may be in a great demand, you should purchase one beforehand.

2. Take some food and bottled water with you. Although dinner car is available onboard, the food may be expensive and not delicious. You can take some snacks or instant noodles which is the top choice for Chinese rail travelers. Or you can take a bottle with you and hot drinkable water is provided onboard.

3. Take some magazines or journals with you or download some videos or games to your cell phone ahead of time because the journey will be long and boring. You can use them to kill time.

4. Take care of your luggage, especially your valuables. If possible, take your valuables with you all the time because there may be thieves onboard.

5. Take some extra clothes with you, especially when you travel in summer. It may be cold at midnight due to the strong wind from the air-conditioners.

6. Take a portable charger with you or get your phone fully charged in advance if you take a normal type train because there are not enough charging sockets onboard.

Hard Sleeper on Normal Train

Soft Sleeper on High Speed Train

Traveling overnight saves your day time and the hotel expenditures, but you may need a quick transfer between the two cities. In this case, you can travel by bullet G trains which run at a higher speed during the day. It costs more than the above-mentioned ones, but only takes 4.5 - 6.5 hours or so; and the schedule is quite dense with about 30 departures / arrivals.

Of course, you can choose to travel by air, too. It only takes about 2.5 hours. But the flight can be easily affected by the weather and delays happen a lot. Also, if count in the transfer time to / from airport, it takes almost the same time with the G trains. 

Beijing - Shanghai High Speed Train

 See also

How to Travel from Beijing to Shanghai

How to Travel from Shanghai to Beijing

Beijing - Shanghai Train vs. Flight 

Cheapest Way to Travel between Beijing and Shanghai 

How to Get from Beijing South Railway Station to Wangfujing 

How to Get from Beijing South Railway Station to Capital Airport 

How to Get from Beijing South Railway Station to Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square

How to Get from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to the Bund 

How to Get from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to People’s Square & Nanjing Road 

How to Get from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Pudong Airport 

 

 Major Rail Lines from Shanghai to: