Shanghai–Kowloon through train
Rail service between China and Hong Kong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Shanghai–Kowloon through train was a train that ran between Hong Kong and Shanghai railway station in China, jointly operated by the MTR Corporation Limited of Hong Kong and China's national rail service (Shanghai Railway Bureau). The numbers of this train service were Z99B (away from Shanghai) and Z100B (towards Shanghai). Services operated along the East Rail line in Hong Kong, crossing the boundary between Hong Kong and Mainland China at Lo Wu/Luohu and then continuing along China's railway network via the Guangshen railway, Jingguang railway and the Hukun railway to Shanghai. The train ran every other day. The journey time was approximately 20 hours.
| Shanghai–Kowloon through train 滬九直通車 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Locale | |
| First service | May 19, 1997 |
| Last service | January 12, 2026 |
| Current operator | CR Shanghai |
| Route | |
| Termini | Shanghai South Guangzhou Baiyun |
| Technical | |
| Track owners |
|



The stops on the route were Guangzhou East, and Jinhua stations. Only passengers taking Z99A/Z100A (Shanghai-Guangzhou East) could disembark at these stops.
After October 1, 2003, passengers taking Z99B could not disembark at the stops listed above, as all travellers to Hong Kong from Shanghai clear Chinese immigration and customs at Shanghai station, and once they had done so they were considered to have left Mainland China and were no longer permitted to leave the train until their arrival at Hung Hom station. The same rule also applied to northbound travellers (Z100B) who would clear Chinese immigration once they had arrived at Shanghai station.[1] 144-hour visa-free transit for passengers who were of selected nationalities were available since January 30, 2016.[2]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, services to Hong Kong have been suspended indefinitely since January 30, 2020. There has been no plan to resume its service, even after the end of the pandemic. After the resumption of train services was suspended due to COVID-19, this series of train services only retain the itinerary within mainland China (Shanghai-Guangzhou) and no longer operate the itinerary to Hong Kong.
On June 4, 2024, China Railway announced that the train services from Shanghai and Beijing to Hung Hom would be replaced by high-speed sleeper trains to West Kowloon station.[3] The train number was renamed from Z99/100 to D907/908 (Later G899/900). Shanghai railway station port is closed officially on July 5, 2024.[4]
On July 1, 2025, Z99/Z100 adjusted its startpoint and endpoint to Shanghai Songjiang and Guangzhou Baiyun respectively, and re-added a stop in Hangzhou South station, last served in 2023.[5]
On January 12, 2026, the last Z99 train departing Shanghai Songjiang station using 25T class train carriages was operated.[6] With the last return trip Z100 on the following day, this marks the end of 25T class train operations on this route. Starting January 26, 2026, the train was renumbered to D99/D100, starting from Shanghai South station, and served by CR200J trains.
Train carriages
Shanghai–Kowloon through train used 25T class train carriages. The train had 18 carriages in total. But only 11 carriages went to Hong Kong because the other 7 carriages served Z99A/Z100A, they were decoupled (for Z99B to go to Hong Kong) at the Guangzhou East railway station.
The dining car of the train was a favourite of many passengers of the train, serving food such as shrimp and fish.[6][7]
| Carriage number | 1 | 2 | 3-6 | 7-9 | 10 | 11 | 12-14 | 15-17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of carriages | XL25T Baggage car (Chinese: 行李车) |
YW25T Hard sleeper (Chinese: 硬卧车) |
YW25T Hard Sleeper |
RW25T Soft sleeper (Chinese: 软卧车) |
RW19T Luxury Soft Sleeper (Chinese: 高级包厢软卧车) |
CA25T Dining car (Chinese: 餐车) |
YW25T Hard Sleeper |
YZ25T Hard seat (Chinese: 硬座车) |
YW25T Hard Sleeper |
| Notes | Carriages No.1-11 go to Hong Kong (Z99B/Z100B) | Carriages No.12-18 only serve passengers taking Z99A/Z100A | |||||||
- Hard sleeper Car of 25T class train carriages
- Soft Sleeper Car of 25T class train carriages
- Luxury Soft Sleeper Car of 25T class train carriages
- Dining Car of 25T class train carriages
Timetable
The following timetable was the train's final timetable before its discontinuation.
| Z99[8] | Stops | Z100[9] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | Depart | Arrive | Depart | |
| - | 17:19 | Shanghai | 10:46 | - |
| 19:26 | 19:29 | Hangzhou South | 08:41 | 08:44 |
| 20:40 | 20:46 | Jinhua | 07:24 | 07:30 |
| 09:45 | - | Guangzhou Baiyun | - | 18:14 |
See also
Notes
- Services to Hung Hom have been suspended indefinitely since 30 Jan 2020 and the train currently runs only from Shanghai to Guangzhou Baiyun.