The first high-speed sleeper train departs from Shanghai to Hong Kong in the evening and arrives in the morning
At 8:15 p.m. on the 15th, the first high-speed train D907 departed from Shanghai Hongqiao Station. The train will arrive at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at 7:29 a.m. the next day. This is the first time that the high-speed train between Shanghai and Hong Kong has departed in the evening and arrived the next morning.
The reporter learned from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. that starting from the 15th, the ordinary through trains Z97/98 and Z99/100 between Beijing West, Shanghai and Hong Kong Hung Hom Station will be upgraded to high-speed sleeper trains D909/910 and D907/908 between Beijing West, Shanghai Hongqiao and Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. After the upgrade, the full travel time from Beijing and Shanghai to Hong Kong will be shortened from 24:31 and 19:34 to 12:34 and 11:14 respectively.
In addition to the speed increase, the convenience of travel has been greatly improved. The number of seats for each train has increased to more than 600. The customs clearance mode has been changed from "two places, two inspections" to "one place, two inspections" at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. The accessibility has increased from three stations in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong to multiple stations along the line, including Shijiazhuang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen North, and Hangzhou East. The departure date has been changed from every other day to Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and the number of trains running per week has increased from 14 to 16.
"It's so convenient to get to Hong Kong in one night," said Wei Weiwen, executive director of Sanwei Entertainment, a passenger on the first train. He travels between Shanghai and Hong Kong for work, once a month on average. Previously, he mainly traveled by plane because the railway took too long. "The model of leaving in the evening and arriving in the morning does not delay daytime work, which is very suitable for business travelers who travel between the two places for a long time. In the future, I will consider high-speed rail travel when traveling between Shanghai and Hong Kong, and recommend this high-speed rail to my colleagues," he said.
Among the passengers on the first train, the reporter saw many business travelers, tourists, and students studying abroad during the summer vacation traveling between Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The first passenger, 79-year-old Mr. Chen, is a Hong Kong resident. He had just finished his trip in Shanghai and chose to take train D907 back to Hong Kong. "My wife and I often come to Shanghai for travel after retirement. My wife is afraid of heights, so we mainly took the ordinary train Z99/100 to and from. The high-speed sleeper train between Shanghai and Hong Kong, which departs in the evening and arrives the next morning, makes our travel comfortable and convenient," he said.
It is reported that the cross-border passenger flow between Hong Kong and the Mainland has maintained a strong growth trend. From January to May this year, a total of 10.777 million cross-border passengers were sent, an increase of 79.3% year-on-year.