The BJ to HK high-speed train is now running – is it worth it?

Only three times slower than a plane

Ever wanted to get to Hong Kong a bit slower than usual? How about in, like, nine hours? Well, do we have the train for you...

via GIPHY

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link officially commenced service on September 23, with some keen travellers queuing for hours to snap up tickets for the line which now sees trains travel between Hong Kong and 30 Mainland destinations, including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan.

A train between Hong Kong and the capital will take around nine hours, while a trip from Shanghai to West Kowloon is expected to be eight hours and 18 minutes. Tickets for trains between Beijing and Hong Kong start at 1,077RMB (second-class), with a train departing every morning from Beijing West at 10am.

While there is already a train between Beijing and Hong Kong, it's not exactly speedy. Rather, with a whopping 24-hour travel time each way and changes required, it's quite the opposite. This has long made flying the easier alternative, although (usually) a more expensive one – one-way flights booked reasonably in advance on Trip.com do start at around 800RMB, but can fluctuate greatly, and those last-minute trips will command an extra penny or two.

That being said, we know what you're thinking and, yes, it is more convenient to fly to Hong Kong, the journey taking around three-and-a-half hours, as opposed to the train journey which is almost three times the length. If time is of the essence, you're probably best off sticking to the skies, but the fixed price of the new high-speed train, with a roughly 2,000RMB return trip, does present a reasonable option for those with more open schedules. Or all you romantics out there with a penchant for a long train ride.

So, whether you're popping down to buy that brand of fancy suncream or M&S teabags you can't get on the Mainland and don't want to get there as quickly, or want to make your next visa run last just that little bit longer, maybe consider the high-speed train the next time you're heading to Hong Kong. It's a nice alternative while we patiently wait for the two-hour Beijing to New York supersonic jet that will one day kill us all...

For other places to travel to near(er) Beijing, hit 'Read more'.

You might have missed

More from Time Out Beijing

Check out our latest issue