On the Rails from Hong Kong to Shanghai

Q: We will be travelling to Hong Kong in June and heard that there is a “bullet” train to Shanghai, which takes approximately 2 hours. Please advise on the cost of the trip and how to go about making a booking. - Daya Naik

A: There is a train service between Hong Kong and Shanghai, but it certainly does not cover the 1231kms in two hours! The T100 train service takes around 20 hours, departing from Hong Kong at 3.15pm and arriving at Shanghai at 11.10am the next day. There are three classes of travel, the hard sleeper (six-berth compartment), the soft sleeper (four-berth compartment) and the deluxe soft sleeper (two-berth compartment with toilet and safety box). All compartments are air conditioned. A one-way ticket bought at the station in Hong Kong costs $65, $110 and $135, but buying through an agency costs more. The current price of tickets bought on http://www.chinatripadvisor.com/ is $92, $145 and $175. Other options are http://www.chinatraintickets.net/ and http://www.tiglion.net/. You can also ask your hotel to book the tickets for you. Tickets can only be reserved 5-10 days in advance of the departure, so having a knowledgable local do it for you is important. You need to know that the departure station in Hong Kong is known as "Hung Hom" and is located in Kowloon, which is also known as "Jiulong". The train from Hong Kong runs on even-numbered dates in January, March, June, July, Sept, Oct 2012 and on odd-numbered dates in Feb, April, May, August, Nov, Dec 2012.