Night-route Tickets for Shanghai-Beijing High-speed Railway Sold out

A file photo shows a high-speed train. [File photo: people.com.cn]

The latest railway service map has already been in force for a week across China, with 12 new routes out of Beijing filling in some of the gaps in high speed rail services at night. It's part of the biggest expansion in China's railway services in the past decade.

Altogether, 300 new routes were added to the network, many of them high speed, with several offering more choice for domestic tourists.

Among the newly launched services, the G7 line, is the most sought-after route for passengers setting out from Beijing.

Leaving the Chinese capital at 7pm, it reaches Shanghai Hongqiao just before midnight, returning to Beijing the next day.

The popular route regularly achieves 90 percent capacity, both during weekdays and at weekends.

The latest improvements mean daily high speed trains between Beijing and Shanghai after 6pm have become a regular part of the timetable.

A Beijing commuter, surnamed Dong, told the Xinhua news agency, the new routes would save her half a day on her upcoming trip to the Shanghai Disney Resorts during the weekend.

One Shanghai native who works in Beijing, said it was now possible for him to get back to his hometown, even after a day's work.

It's also reported that night-route tickets from Beijing to other popular cities, such as Qingdao, Tai'an, Zhengzhou and Hankou, in the upcoming three days are nearly all sold out.