China Railway to offer its largest timetable to date from July 1

More High-Speed trains with fewer stops

The new timetable will see a significant increase in limited-stop high-speed trains. These trains reduce travel times by making fewer stops. Key upgrades include 46 new services on the busy Hangzhou–Changsha section of the Shanghai–Kunming high-speed line, and 24 additional trains on the Beijing–Shenyang segment of the Beijing–Harbin corridor.

The new schedule will also reduce journey times on several routes. The Beijing–Shenyang run will now take just 2 hours and 29 minutes—15 minutes faster than before. The Nanning–Guiyang trip will clock in at only 2 hours and 3 minutes. Meanwhile, newly introduced G-category bullet trains between Yinchuan and Chongqing will cover the distance in 9 hours and 22 minutes. These bullet trains can run at a speed of 300 to 350 km/h.

For the first time, high-speed bullet trains will also connect Hohhot in Inner Mongolia to Hankou and Yangzhou, improving access between northern and eastern China.

New infrastructure will also start to operate from July 1. The Chongqing East–Qianjiang section of the Chongqing–Xiamen high-speed line has completed testing and will begin operations with 18 daily services. In total, 32 new high-speed services will link key western cities like Chongqing and Chengdu with central hubs such as Changsha and Nanchang.

In response to traveler demand for overnight comfort on longer routes, CR is introducing sleeper-equipped trains on five new city pairs: Beijing–Chengdu; Beijing–Guiyang; Shanghai–Chengdu; Shanghai–Yibin and Taiyuan–Shenzhen.

With the new changes, CR’s total scheduled operations will rise to 13,302 passenger trains.

Waiting for the 450 km/h new bullet train

The biggest change to come is the future launch of China’s newest high-speed train, the CR450. Passengers will able to experience this year the new train on one or two test lines. The CR450 is due to start operating for commercial service within two years.

The CR450 can reach a top speed of 450 km/h during testing, with an operational speed of 400 km/h. It is consequently the fastest high-speed train in the world. The CR450 project is a major step in China‘s high-speed rail development, aiming to expand the network to 60,000 km by 2030. It will also bring additional comfort to travellers, including a business class which can be converted into a meeting room.