China's national railways began running the 2026 fourth-quarter passenger timetable at 00:00 on October 11. The Yangtze River Delta recorded all-time highs in both passenger and freight train numbers, while several Guangdong cities gained their first direct services.
According to Xinhua, the national railways began running the 2026 fourth-quarter timetable at 00:00 on October 11. A timetable is the framework that sets departure times, stops and train numbers for the season, and some trains now have different times or stopping stations. Passengers were advised to check the latest schedules on the 12306 website or app.
광고 문의 · 300×250Yangtse Evening Post, citing Shanghai railway authorities, reported that Yangtze River Delta passenger trains now total 1,435.5 pairs, up 2 pairs, and freight trains 1,383 pairs, up 5.5 pairs, both record highs. The goal of this adjustment was described as improving quality and increasing capacity.
Beijing-Hong Kong line and the Yangtze Delta
Yangtse reported that the Xiong'an-Shangqiu section of the Beijing-Hong Kong high-speed railway adds capacity in the new timetable. Hefei West becomes a main node on the Anhui section, and five cross-line high-speed services, including Hefei West-Beijing West, Huangshan North-Beijing West and Shanghai Hongqiao-Xiong'an, are new. Jiuhuashan, Lujiang, Shouxian, Tongcheng and Bozhou gain their first direct high-speed trains to Beijing. With the Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Hong Kong lines, the Yangtze Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region now have two high-speed corridors that can share peak traffic.
Some trips are also faster thanks to the Yixing section that opened on September 28. According to Yangtse, G3390/1 from Shanghai Hongqiao to Chengdu South is 34 minutes shorter than the current fastest high-speed train, and G3392/89 from Chengdu East to Shanghai Hongqiao is 77 minutes shorter. Seven commuter trains were added around Shanghai, Jiaxing and Hangzhou (five morning, two evening), and the Yiwu hub rose from 226 to 272 daily passenger trains.
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Xinhua-linked reports and 21st Century Business Herald said Foshan station now has 115 trains and 10 new originating or terminating high-speed services. Foshan gets its first direct high-speed links to Beijing West, Shanghai South and Wuhan, so travelers no longer have to change in Guangzhou. More early-morning trains run from Yangjiang and Jiangmen to Guangzhou South, and four direct Guangzhou South-Zhanjiang trains are restored, with the fastest trip at 2 hours 36 minutes.
At Taishan, trains G6048/5 and G6046/7 between Zhanjiang West and Hong Kong West Kowloon now stop, giving Taishan its first direct service to West Kowloon in 2 hours 10 minutes. Two new EMU trips link Chaoshan and Zhanjiang North, and six link Chaoshan and Meizhou West, joining eastern and western Guangdong. The Guangzhou railway group said it operates 205 freight trains, 173 of them across bureau boundaries.
Freight also changed. Yangtse reported that the Shanghai Minhang-Guangzhou International Port service is now direct, cutting transit to 26 hours, and a new China-Vietnam train (about 2,000 TEU) runs from Nanxiang and Jinhua East to the Pingxiang border port. Yiwu added two sea-rail trains to Ningbo-Zhoushan's Chuanshan port area.
Third perspective: In our view, the notable feature of this change is that the timetable is refined quarter by quarter rather than reflecting new lines in a single sweep. For passengers, what matters more than the number of added trains is that cities which once required a transfer are now directly linked. Overseas Chinese readers in Korea who travel on Chinese railways during holidays or family visits should note that train numbers and times may have changed, and it is safer to check the revised timetable on 12306 before booking.
