There are three main railway stations located in different districts in Shanghai: Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, and Shanghai South Railway Station.

Shanghai Railway Station

Shanghai Railway Station

Unlike Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, Shanghai Railway Station is not that big or modernized. However, it is convenient to get to because it is located in Shanghai’s city center — Jing’an District.

Shanghai Railway Station has a very long history which can be traced back to the federal period (Qing dynasty) of China. Many famous historical events occured there, such as the assassination of “Song Jiaoren (a famous revolutionist)” and the Battle of Shanghai (the biggest war between China and Japan).

  • Name: Shanghai Railway Station
  • Name in Chinese: 上海火车站, Shànghǎi Zhàn
  • District: Jing'an District
  • Address: Moling Road, Zhabei District 上海市闸北区秣陵路
  • Station size: 13 platforms
  • Transportation: bus, subway, and taxi

Popular Trains from Shanghai Railway Station

  • To Nanjing Railway Station: There are over 15 bullet trains running from Shanghai Railway Station to Nanjing Railway Station departing between 05:53 and 22:55.
    It takes about 2½ hours and costs 134.5 yuan per second class seat.
  • To Hung Hom Railway Station: There is only one normal-speed train operating from Shanghai Railway Station to Hung Hom Railway Station.
    It takes about 19 hours and costs 439 yuan per hard sleeper to travel from Shanghai to Hong Kong, and 535 yuan per hard sleeper to travel from Hong Kong to Shanghai.
    * Trains tickets between mainland China and Hong Kong aren’t sold online, so please go the departure station or destination station to buy your ticket(s). Alternatively, book your ticket(s) with our China Train Booking app.
  • To Beijing South Railway Station: There are five bullet trains running from Shanghai Railway Station to Beijing South Railway Station, departing between 07:00 and 21:07.
    For G series bullet trains, it takes about 4½ hours and costs 558 yuan for a second class seat.

Find all the schedules for China’s trains on our China Train Booking app ( IOS, GooglePlay, Android APK ).

The Layout of Shanghai Railway Station

shanghai-railway

Shanghai Railway Station has three main floors and two station squares.

  • F1 (entrance hall): ticket windows and waiting rooms (for soft sleeper class and group passengers)
  • F2 (main floor): waiting rooms, check-in gates, and a commercial area (Family-Mart, book stores, and Shanghai local specialties)
  • F3: waiting rooms, Shanghai local specialties, and a mini market
  • South Square: ticket windows, bus stations, and taxi stands
  • North Square: ticket windows, long-distance coaches, bus stations, and taxi stands

There are two entrances for passengers to enter the station: South Entrance and North Entrance.

One of the entrances to Shanghai Railway Station

One of the entrances to Shanghai Railway Station

There is also a soft sleeper waiting room in the east section of the station. Passengers with soft sleeper tickets can go directly to this waiting room after entering the station.

In Shanghai Railway Station, 80% of the waiting rooms are located on F2. If you don’t have soft sleeper class tickets, please take the escalators to F2 after entering the station.

To leave the station, take one of these three exits: North Exit, Southeast Exit and Southwest Exit.

Find out about the train facilities and train/seat types by reading the Normal-Speed Train Guide and the High-Speed Train/Rail Guide.

Buy/Collect Tickets at Shanghai Railway Station

There are two ticket offices in Shanghai Railway Station, located in South Square and North Square. There are also some ticket windows on F1 in the station building.

The ticket refund windows are numbered 1 and 2, and the rescheduling windows are numbered 3 and 4.

Learn more information about buying and collecting tickets in China by reading:

Baggage Porters

The baggage porters usually wait in the squares or around the station entrances. They wear red caps and usually charge about 10 yuan for each piece of baggage.

Baggage Rules of China Rail

Chengwei Service Desk

This service desk is located in the ticket office in South Square of Shanghai Railway Station.

The main serves offered are to:
  • Help buy ticket(s) for passengers in need
  • Help disabled passengers board their trains
  • Buy airport tickets and coach tickets if the trains are delayed or canceled
  • Provide timetables to passengers

Transportation Around Shanghai Railway Station

Subway

  • Available subway lines: 1, 3, and 4
  • To take Metro Line 1, please walk in the direction of South Exit.
    To take Metro Line 3 and 4, please exit the station from the west side.

    Shanghai Metro Line Network, click the map to see a larger map:

    Shanghai subway map

    Bus

    • Buses in North Square: 106 (to Shanghai West Railway Station), 115, 117, 305, 306, 310, 817, 823, 912, 929, 942, 962, and Xinchuan Special Line (新川专线)
    • Buses in South Square: 95, 104, 109, 927, 930, Airport Line 5, Shenchuan Special Line (申川专线), and Tunnel Line 3

    Shanghai Long-Distance Bus Terminal (上海长途汽车客运总站)

    You can get to Shanghai Long-Distance Bus Terminal from Shanghai Railway Station by walking in a northwesterly direction for about 1 minute.

    It’s a big coach station with 26 ticket windows and 12 escalators. There are 24 check-in gates and 48 coach parking spots.

    If you are going to some counties and remote places in the Yangtze Delta, you are recommended to take coaches from this terminal.

      Popular coach lines:
    • To Jinshajiang (the Jinsha River): operating from 5:30am
    • To Large Vertikal Lake: operating from 5:50am
    • To Funing County: operating from 5:50am
    • To Zhangjiagang: operating from 6m

    Go to Shanghai Railway Station from the Downtown Area

    There are three main districts, which are often known as the downtown area of Shanghai: Huangpu District, Jing’an District, and Xuhui District.

    Go to Shanghai Railway Station from Huangpu District, 4 Kilometers

    Yu Garden, Shanghai

    Yu Garden

    Huangpu District (黄浦区) is where the Bund, New World of Shanghai and Yu Garden (豫园) are located.

    Let’s take Huangpu District Government (黄浦区政府) as a landmark to show you how to get to Shanghai Railway Station.

    • By subway:
      1. Walk to People's Square Subway Station (人民广场).
      2. Take Metro Line 1 (toward the Fujin Road Station).
      3. Get off the train at Shanghai Railway Station Subway Station.
      The trip takes about 30 minutes in total.
    • By taxi: It takes about 14 minutes and 20 yuan.

    Go to Shanghai Railway Station from Jin’an District, 3.8 Kilometers

    Jing’an District (静安区) is where Jing’an Temple and some former residences of famous people are located.

    We will take Jing’an District Government (静安区政府) as a landmark to show you how to go to Shanghai Railway Station.

    • By subway:
      1. Walk to Beijing West Changde Road Bus Stop (北京西路常德路) and take bus 927.
      2. Get off at Shanghai Railway Station South Square Stop (上海火车站(南广场)站).
      3. Walk for about 310 meters to reach Shanghai Railway Station.
      The trip takes about 40 minutes in total.
    • By taxi: It takes about 14 minutes and 20 yuan.

    Go to Shanghai Railway Station from Xuhui District, 9.8 Kilometers

    Xuhui District is where Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University are located.

    We will take Xuhui District Government (徐汇区政府) as an example to show you how to get to Shanghai Railway Station.

    • By subway:
      1. Walk about 590 meters to find Xujiahui Subway Station (徐家汇地铁站).
      2. Take Metro Line 1 (in the direction of Fujin Road).
      3. Get off at Shanghai Railway Station Subway Station.
      The trip takes about 25 minutes in total.
    • By taxi: It takes about 30 minutes and costs about 35 yuan.

    Getting to Other Places from Shanghai Railway Station

    To Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, 20 Kilometers

    • By subway/bus:
      1. Take Metro Line 3 from Shanghai Railway Station.
      2. Get off at Hongqiao Road Station (虹桥路).
      3. Transfer to Metro Line 10 inside the station.
      4. To go to the train station, please get off the subway train at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station Subway Station from the south exit.
        To go to the airport, please get off the subway train at Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 Station.

      This trip takes about 45 minutes in total.

    • By taxi: It takes about 1 hour and costs about 70 yuan.

    To Shanghai South Railway Station, 8.5 Kilometers

    • By subway:
      1. Take Metro Line 1 (in the direction of Xinzhuang莘庄) from Shanghai Railway Station.
      2. Get off at Shanghai South Railway Station Subway Station.

      This journey takes about 30 minutes in total.

    • By taxi: It takes about 35 minutes and costs about 55 yuan.

    To Shanghai Maglev Train Station

    Shanghai’s maglev train is the fastest commercial use maglev train in the world. Taking a maglev train is becoming one of the must-do activities for tourists traveling to Shanghai.

    A maglev train in Shanghai

    A maglev train in Shanghai

    There are only two stops on Shanghai’s maglev line: Longyang Road Station and Pudong Airport Station.

    If you are going to Pudong Interantional Airport, you can go to Longyang Road first and experience it before going to the airport on a maglev train.

    From Shanghai Railway Station to Longyang Road Maglev Train Station:

    • Take Metro Line 1 from Shanghai Railway Station.
    • Get off the train at People’s Square Subway Station.
    • Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Longyang Road Subway Station.

    If you arrive at Pudong International Airport by airplane, you can also leave the airport via a maglev trains.

    Read more information and find out how to buy Shanghai maglev train tickets: Maglev Trains in Shanghai.

    To Shanghai Pudong International Airport, 44 Kilometers

    • By airport express (recommended):
      1. Find Airport Express Line 5 in South Square at Shanghai Railway Station.
      2. Get off the bus at Pudong International Airport Terminal 1 (浦东机场1号航站楼).

      The journey takes about 2 hours in total.

    • By subway:
      1. Take Metro Line 4 from Shanghai Railway Station.
      2. Get off the subway at Century Avenue Station (世纪大道).
      3. Transfer to Metro Line 2.
      4. Get off the subway at Guanglan Road (广兰路).
      5. Transfer to the East Extension Line of Metro Line 2 (地铁2号线东延伸段).
      6. Get off at Pudong International Airport.

      It takes about 1.5 hours in total.

    • By taxi: It takes about 1 hour and costs about 180 yuan.

    To The Bund, 4.9 Kilometers

    Modern buildings in the Bund

    Modern buildings in the Bund

    The Bund (外滩) is a symbol of Shanghai, and it is the epitome of Shanghai’s history — from a British concession in the Qing Dynasty to the present day as one of the top financial centers in the world.

    Shanghai’s landmarks, such as the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center are all located there. The most amazing feature is that the buildings are distinctly different on either side of the river. One side has classic Western-style buildings and the other side has modern buildings.

    Classic Western-style buildings in the Bund

    Classic Western-style buildings in the Bund

    • By subway/bus:
      1. Take Metro Line 1 from Shanghai Railway Station Subway Station.
      2. Get off at Xinzha Road Station (新闸路) from Exit 5.
      3. Walk for about 120 meters to reach Xinzha Road Bus Stop and take bus 64.
      4. Get off at Jiangxi Zhonglu Hankou Stop (江西中路汉口站).

      The journey takes about 40 minutes in total.

    • By taxi: It takes about 20 minutes and costs about 22 yuan.

    Book Your Train Ticket(s) to Shanghai

    We recommend to book your train ticket(s) to Shanghai using our China Train Booking App. You will get your online ticket(s) within 3 minutes and you can make bookings or cancellations at anywhere, at anytime.

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