Short answer
Chengdu and Chongqing are about 300–308 km apart, and the high-speed corridor between them behaves less like an intercity railway and more like a metro. The fastest trains do it in 1 hour 15 minutes, most services land between 1h 15m and 2 hours, and there are well over a hundred departures a day each way — roughly one every few minutes from early morning until around 11 pm.
Trains leave mainly from Chengdu East Railway Station (成都东站) and arrive at Chongqing North (重庆北站), Chongqing West (重庆西站) or Shapingba (沙坪坝站). All three are on the metro but in different parts of the city, so check which one your ticket names before planning your onward trip.
A second-class seat generally costs ¥85 to ¥220 depending on the service and departure time. Fares are dynamically priced, so peak departures trend to the top of that band and off-peak ones sit near the bottom. For a journey this short, second class is the sensible choice — business class is not worth the money here.
Why this route is worth knowing about
This is the corridor that shows foreign visitors what Chinese high-speed rail actually feels like. It is short, cheap, extremely frequent and completely unceremonious: you turn up, scan your passport, get on, and 75 minutes later you are in a city with a different character entirely.
Chengdu is Sichuan's slow-paced tea-house capital — pandas, hotpot, wide boulevards. Chongqing is the opposite: a vertical, foggy mountain city where monorails run through apartment blocks and streets stack on top of each other. The train makes doing both a comfortable day trip rather than a logistics problem. The line opened in December 2015 and is 307 km of purpose-built track designed for up to 350 km/h.
The stations at each end
Chengdu has three passenger stations that matter, and one of them is out of action. Chongqing has four. This is where most confusion on this route comes from, so check the exact station name on your booking.
| Station | Role on this route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chengdu East (成都东站) | Where the great majority of high-speed trains depart | The main hub for this corridor; on the Chengdu metro. |
| Chengdu South (成都南站) | A few services — typically 3–5 bullet trains a day | Convenient from Tianfu Airport, which links here by metro. |
| Chengdu Railway Station (成都站) | Closed for rebuilding since October 2022 | Services are diverted to other stations. Do not plan around it. |
| Chongqing North (重庆北站) | A major arrival point for this corridor | On the Chongqing metro; a common choice for central hotels. |
| Chongqing West (重庆西站) | Handles a large share of the G and D services | On the metro, but further from the classic downtown sights. |
| Shapingba (沙坪坝站) | A growing number of services; best for the western districts | Central, metro-connected, near the university district. |
| Chongqing East (重庆东站) | A newer station that is expanding quickly | Still less practical than North or Shapingba for most visitors. |
Journey times
Because the corridor carries so many services, journey times vary more than you might expect for 300 km. The fastest Fuxing-class G trains skip most stops; D-class trains calling at more stations take noticeably longer.
| Service | Typical duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fastest G trains | About 1h 15m | The flagship services; minimal stops |
| Most G trains | About 1h 20m – 1h 45m | The bulk of the timetable |
| D trains and slower services | About 2h – 2h 30m | More intermediate stops, usually cheaper |
| Conventional Z/T/K trains | About 3h – 5h 30m | Skip these unless you specifically want the slow route |
One trap: a small number of services take around six hours and cost more than the fast ones, usually because they are routed the long way round. If a departure looks both slow and expensive, just pick a different one.
Ticket prices and seat classes
Fares here are dynamically priced: China Railway adjusts them by departure time and demand, so the same seat class can differ meaningfully between a 7 am and a 3 pm train.
| Class | Approximate fare | Is it worth it? |
|---|---|---|
| Second class | About ¥85–220 | Yes. 3+2 layout with decent legroom and power sockets — entirely fine for 75 minutes. |
| First class | About ¥135–380 | Optional. 2+2 layout and a quieter carriage. Pleasant, not necessary. |
| Business class | About ¥407–829 | No. On a journey this short it is a lot of money for very little. |
Published ranges differ because booking sites sample different trains and dates. Treat the numbers as a band to plan around and confirm the exact fare in the app.
How to buy a ticket with a foreign passport
Book on 12306, the official China Railway platform, at 12306.cn/en or in the 12306 app. Both are English-capable, accept foreign passports and handle changes and refunds. Your passport is your ticket: nothing to print or collect.
- Register before you travelPassport verification is usually quick but blocks booking when it fails. Do it from home, not the night before.
- Match your name to the passport exactlyUse the Latin spelling from the machine-readable zone. This is the number one cause of gate rejections.
- Add a passenger profileAn account alone is not enough, you need a passenger record with your passport number and expiry date.
- Bind Alipay or WeChat Pay12306 does not accept foreign credit cards directly. Both wallets accept foreign-issued cards after passport verification.
- Book the night before, or the same morningWith this many departures you rarely need to plan far ahead, but holiday periods still sell out, book early for Golden Week, Chinese New Year or the summer peak.
At the station: the step-by-step
- Security screening on entryBags through the X-ray, you through the metal detector.
- Passport scan at the gateLarge stations have readers for foreign passports. If yours will not read, go to a staffed lane rather than retrying.
- Find your gate in the departure hallChengdu East is a very large station. Note the gate number from the board and position yourself near it.
- Board when the gate opensThe gate opens for a window before departure and closes before the train leaves.
- Take your seatSeat numbers are on the booking. Luggage goes on the overhead racks or the racks at the end of each carriage; there is no check-in.
Because the trip is short, arriving 30 minutes before departure is comfortable, but at Chengdu East the walk from the entrance to a distant platform can take a while.
Doing it as a day trip
This route is short enough that a same-day return is a genuinely reasonable plan, and plenty of visitors do exactly that.
- Leave Chengdu around 8 am and you are in Chongqing by about 9:30, giving you a full day.
- Plan the return for 6–8 pm and you will be back in Chengdu by 9–10 pm.
- Chongqing's sights are spread out. Hongyadong, Jiefangbei and the Liziba monorail are the standard trio, pick two rather than trying to do all three properly.
- Check your arrival station against your plans. A ticket into Shapingba with a plan built around Jiefangbei means a metro ride you did not account for.
If you would rather not rush, staying a night is the better version of this trip; the city is at its most photogenic after dark, and the last trains back leave before the best of the evening.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Chengdu to Chongqing high-speed train?
The fastest G trains take about 1 hour 15 minutes for the roughly 300 km trip. Most run between 1h 15m and 2 hours, and slower D-class services can take up to about 2h 30m.
How much does a ticket cost?
Second class runs about ¥85–220, first class about ¥135–380 and business class about ¥407–829. Fares are dynamically priced, so peak departures cost more. Check the app for the exact fare on your train.
How many trains run each day?
Well over a hundred each way, sources count roughly 143–150 pairs daily. Departures run from early morning until around 11 pm, so you can usually turn up and travel within a short wait.
Which station in Chengdu should I use?
Chengdu East (成都东站) for the great majority of services. A handful use Chengdu South, convenient if you are arriving from Tianfu Airport by metro. Chengdu Railway Station has been closed for rebuilding since October 2022.
Which Chongqing station is best?
It depends where you are going. Shapingba is central and good for the western districts; Chongqing North suits central hotels; Chongqing West handles a large share of services but sits further from the classic downtown sights. Check the station name on your ticket before booking a hotel.
Can I do it as a day trip?
Yes, comfortably. A roughly 8 am departure gets you in around 9:30 am, and a 6–8 pm train puts you back in Chengdu by 9–10 pm. Budget extra time for Chongqing's terrain, which makes transfers slower than the map suggests.
Do I need to book in advance?
Usually not, with departures every few minutes, same-day booking is normal. The exceptions are Chinese New Year, National Day Golden Week in early October and the summer peak, when you should book as soon as the app opens the date.
Can I use a foreign passport on this route?
Yes. Register on 12306 with your passport, add yourself as a passenger, and pay through Alipay or WeChat Pay. Your passport is your ticket, scan it at the gate.
Related reading
Journey times, station assignments and fare ranges on this page were compiled from multiple independent route guides and cross-checked against each other; where sources disagree, the spread is shown rather than averaged. Train numbers, exact departure times and dynamically priced fares change and are set by China Railway, confirm your specific journey on 12306 before you rely on any figure here. Current as of September 2026.