Shanghai Railway Station Guide: How to Take Tibet Train from Shanghai

Shanghai Railway Station, which was rebuilt from the former Shanghai East Railway Station, is located at Moling Road, Jing’an District of Shanghai city. It is one of the major railway stations in Shanghai, and the only station that offers the train to Lhasa from Shanghai. Being an important hub of China railway lines, Shanghai Railway Station lies at a crucial location, being about 1463 km from Beijing Railway Station, 309 km from Nanjing West Railway Station, and 201 km from Hangzhou Railway Station.

Shanghai-Tibet Train Schedule

The Shanghai-Lhasa train (Z164) can take you from Shanghai Railway Station to Lhasa in about 46 hours. It departs from Shanghai Railway Station at 20:10 every day and arrives in Lhasa at 18:25 on the third day. The total distance from Shanghai to Lhasa is 4373 km, with 14 main stops, including Nanjing Railway Station, Xian Railway Station, Lanzhou Railway Station and Xining Railway Station etc.

Please note:
The train schedule from Shanghai to Lhasa above is just for reference. When you make early reservation, please contact us for more details.

How to Collect Tibet Train Ticket at Shanghai Railway Station?

Shanghai Railway Station is provided with 2 ticket offices respectively on the north and south squares. There are more than 80 ticket windows in total for ticketing services, including 20 in a ticket office to the southeast of the station building. For Chinese ID card holders, they can buy or collect a train ticket from both the ticket windows and automatic ticketing machines. But, as a foreigner traveler, you can only get your Tibet train ticket from the ticket window with your passport and Tibet Travel Permit.

The first thing is to collect the train ticket from the ticket window of Shanghai Railway Station.

In this occasion, we can help you to obtain your Tibet train ticket on behalf of you. After we get the Tibet train ticket as you required, we will hand it to you personally. Or you can collect the ticket from the ticket window by yourself, with the booking number we send to you, your passport and Tibet Permit. You can also turn to us for the service of Tibet Travel Permit application and tour arrangement, to ensure yourself a hassle-free experience of your Tibet tour.

How to Board Tibet Train at Shanghai Railway Station?

1. Prepare your Travel Documents and Train Tickets

The first important thing before you leave for the train station is to prepare your travel documents and train tickets, namely, your passport, Tibet Travel Permit and Tibet train ticket. All of them are necessary for you to board the Tibet train to Lhasa. Also, it is strongly advised to reach the station at least 2 hours early before the departure, so that you can spare much time on queueing and go through all processes.

2. Pass through Security Check and Wait in the Waiting Hall

Before enter the station building, you need to pass through the security check. Controlled knifes, pets and some other dangerous items are not allowed to carry to the train. After you enter the station from the north or south exit, you can take the escalator to the central corridor of the second floor.

Find the correct waiting room for your train to Tibet in Shanghai Railway Station.

The station is provided with 12 waiting rooms, and all of them are equipped with wash rooms. There are 5 waiting rooms respectively distributed on each side of the central corridor on the second floor. You can find the corresponding waiting room according to the indication of electronic screens. Besides, the soft-sleeper waiting room and group waiting room are located on the ground floor of the station building.

3. Find your Platform and Get on Board

Usually, the train staff will begin to check the ticket 30 minutes before each train’s departure time. The platforms of Shanghai train station are connected to the waiting rooms by elevated passages. Tourists need to walk a while to the platform for your train.

You need to find the matching train door that leads to the correct carriage with the seat you have booked. The information of carriage number, seat or berth number are right written on your Tibet train ticket. And you can find your berth according to the corresponding information printed on the compartment door. After you get onboard and find your berth, you can put your luggage on the luggage rack or under the berth.

How to Get to Shanghai Railway Station from Shanghai Airport

Get to Shanghai Railway Station from Pudong Airport

In order to get to Shanghai Railway Station from Pudong International Airport, tourists can take Metro Line 2 East Extension Line to Guanglan Road and change to Metro Line 2 to People’s Square, and then change to Metro Line 1 to Shanghai Railway Station. Or, you can get off from Metro Line 2 at Shiji Avenue Station and change to Metro Line 2 to reach the railway station. It takes about one and half hours and costs 7 RMB per person by subway.

Passengers can take shuttle bus to Shanghai Railway Station from Pudong Airport.

Also, there is Shuttle Bus No.5 at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 from Pudong International Airport to the South Square of Shanghai Railway Station. It takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes with 5 stops en route, and the ticket price is 22 RMB. The shuttle bus is scheduled every 15-30 minutes, and the service is from 6:30 to 23:00 at Terminal 2, and from 5:10 to 21:30 at Shanghai Railway Station.

It will take about one hour and cost about 200 RMB to take a taxi from the airport to the train station. While during the high travel season or rush hours, the taxi fee may rise much higher due to the traffic jam.

Get to Shanghai Railway Station from Hongqiao Airport

The best option for tourists to get to Shanghai train station from Hongqiao International Airport is to ride the metro. You can take Metro Line 10 at Terminal 1 Station of Hongqiao Airport, and change to Metro Line 3 at Hongqiao Road to Shanghai Railway Station. This subway journey only takes about 50 minutes and will cost 5 RMN each person.

Besides, tourists can also take Bus No. 941, which will stop at the bus station about 1km to the southeast of Hongqiao Airport. The bus can directly take you to the south square of Shanghai Railway Station in about 2 hours, with no transfer on the way.

How to Get to Shanghai Railway Station from Downtown

Shanghai Railway Station offers an excellent connection with the Shanghai downtown, which can be easily reached by bus or metro lines. Night shuttle buses are also provided for transferring to every district in Shanghai city.

Get to Shanghai Railway Station by Metro

Recently, there are 13 metro lines served in Shanghai, and Metro line 1, line 3, and line 4 are straight to Shanghai railway station. There are two squares in the railway station, which connected by an underground passage. The south square is connected with the exit/entrance for Metro Line 1. In the north square, there are exits/entrances for Metro Line 3 and Line 4.

It is convenient to get to Shanghai Train Station from Downtown by subway.

Get to Shanghai Railway Station by Taxi

It is also convenient to get to Shanghai Railway Station from downtown city by taxi. But your need to pay attention to the traffic jam in rush hour. It takes about 30 minutes from South Railway Station and 40 minutes from Hongqiao International Airport.

Get to Shanghai Railway Station from the Bund

The Bund is only about 6 km from Shanghai Railway Station. Tourists can take Metro Line 2 at Nanjing East Road and change to Metro Line 1 at People’s Square. It takes around 40 minutes from the bund to the station and costs 3 RMB per person one way. There are only 4 stops for the whole subway route.

Popular High-speed & Bullet Trains from Shanghai Railway Station

Located in prosperous eastern coastal area of China, Shanghai has frequent connections with other neighboring cities, like Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing etc., and the capital city of Beijing. It is a good idea to enjoy a sightseeing in Shanghai and its surrounding cities before your Tibet tour, since there are high-speed trains for convenient transfers among these cities.

Shanghai to Suzhou High-speed Train

There are more than 40 high-speed trains running from Shanghai Railway Station to Suzhou every day. The high-speed trains from Shanghai to Suzhou are scheduled from 12:05 to 22:25, and it only takes about 30 minutes to arrive at Suzhou Railway Station. Besides, there are D-series bullet trains and Z-series nonstop trains which take about 40-50 minutes to Suzhou city from Shanghai Railway Station.

Shanghai to Hangzhou High-speed Train

About 50 high-speed and bullet trains are provided for tourists get to Hangzhou from Shanghai each day. The Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed train departs from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and arrives at Hangzhou West Railway Station in about one hour. There is only one train departing from Shanghai Railway Station. It leaves at 17:54 from Shanghai and reaches Hangzhou at 19:31.

Shanghai to Beijing High-Speed Train

There are 12 daily high-speed trains departing from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and 3 bullet trains from Shanghai Railway Station, all running to Beijing South Railway Station. As a better choice, you can take the high-speed train, which only needs 4 to 6 hours from Shanghai to Beijing, to experience the rapid development and innovative technology of China. On the other hand, if you choose the bullet train, you can enjoy a night stay onboard, since all bullet trains depart at night and arrive in Beijing in the next morning.