Guangzhou by train
Hong Kong - Guangzhou through train timetable
| Train no. |
Hung Hom
(departure) |
GZ East
(arrival)
|
|---|
| T812* |
07:25 |
09:20
|
| T824* |
08:18 |
10:09
|
| T820* |
09:24 |
11:19
|
| T804* |
10:42 |
12:37
|
| T808 |
11:28 |
13:23
|
| T814 |
12:14 |
14:09
|
| T826* |
13:10 |
15:01
|
| T818* |
14:47 |
16:42
|
| T810* |
16:35 |
18:29
|
| T828* |
17:50 |
19:41
|
| T816* |
18:35 |
20:30
|
| T802* |
19:24 |
21:19
|
Current as of Sept 2011
* denotes a stop-over in Dongguan (Changping station)
|
Trains cover the 182 kilometers from Hong Kong in about two hours, including a stop at Dongguan. Through Trains to Guangzhou East Railway Station depart from Hong Kong at Hung Hom railway station in Kowloon and arrive in Guangzhou at the East station. Through train services are operated by Hong Kong MTR. . The one-way journey price starts from 190HKD-230HKD.
It is cheaper to take the Guangshen intercity train service (广深城际列车) from Shenzhen to Guangzhou East Railway Station. Some trips also stop at Guangzhou Railway Station. Shenzhen is right across the border from Hong Kong and thousands of people walk over the bridge between the two every day through Luohu (罗湖). Tickets can be bought at the Shenzen Rail Station in Luohu. The one-way journey price starts from ¥80.
A project is underway to link the entire Pearl River Delta area with high speed (300+ km/h) railway network. The Zhuhai-Guangzhou section is open in 2011, and the journey will take just 57 minutes. Guangzhou-Shenzhen line has been completed and is expected to open soon. A new long distance line from Guangzhou to Wuhan is open. It travels through major cities such as Changsha and Shaoguan. It takes only less than over 3 hours for a journey to Wuhan, nearly 1,000 km away. One way ticket is from ¥490. This train holds the current world record for commercial train services in term of average speed. This is part of a nationwide high-speed network that is under construction. Eventually, this will allow a 7-hour Guangzhou-Beijing ride. Guangzhou South Railway Station (广州南站) is the new home to the high-speed train services.
It is possible to book a train ticket from Guangzhou to Lhasa, Tibet. The 4,980 km journey takes 54 hours and 39 minutes and runs every other day from Guangzhou Station (广州站). A sleeper costs ¥923 and up. The last stretch is on the new Qinghai-Tibet railway; for discussion see Overland to Tibet.
Bear in mind there are now three major train stations in Guangzhou. Countless travelers have gone to the wrong station and missed their scheduled trips, so be sure of your departing station, which is specified on the ticket.
Guangzhou East Railway Station (广州东站, Dong-Zhan) services routes to Hong Kong and some mainland cities. Metro line 1 ends here.
Guangzhou Railway Station (广州站, Guangzhou-Zhan) is one of the biggest in the country and services routes that go all the way to Harbin. Metro lines 2 and 5 have a connection stop here.
Guangzhou South Railway Station (广州南站, Nan-Zhan) is the newest and serves the high-speed network.
Guangzhou also has several other stations such as the North Station and West Station. There are also name variations for each of the stations. Be sure to use official names to avoid confusion.
Although some signs are available in English, staff may not understand English well enough, except at the Guangzhou-Kowloon counter. Bring a phrasebook or a Chinese friend if you're planning on traveling deeper into China.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Guangzhou
