Beijing to Xi'an Train and Night Train

Take a G high-speed train if you want to be in Xi'an in about 4 hours, or an overnight train if you want to sleep on the way. The fastest G trains from Beijing West to Xi'an North take 4 hours 10 minutes.^[1] The overnight D trains take between 11 hours 45 minutes and 12 hours 45 minutes, and the Z, T and K trains with hard and soft sleepers take about 12 to 17 hours.^[1]

For a night in a bed with a morning arrival, D43 is the simplest choice: it leaves Beijing West at 20:29 and reaches Xi'an at 08:23.^[1] In the other direction, D44 leaves Xi'an at 20:35 and arrives at Beijing West at 08:23.^[1]

Which train to take

More than 20 G trains a day run in each direction between Beijing West and Xi'an North, with departures from about 07:00 to 19:00. The quickest ones, such as G351 at 07:55, G365 at 09:55 and G369 at 19:00, stop only at a few cities on the way, including Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou East.^[1] A few G trains, such as G655 at 08:26, G659 at 16:15 and G665 at 17:08, end at Xi'an station and take 5 hours 39 minutes to 5 hours 54 minutes.^[1]

Five overnight D trains leave Beijing West in the evening: D39 at 18:30, D41 at 20:03 and D43 at 20:29, plus D101 and D29 at around 16:00. D101 and D29 reach Xi'an at 03:37 and 03:46 and continue west to Xining and Lanzhou, so they arrive at night.^[1] D41 takes the longer route through Taiyuan and Yan'an and arrives at 08:46, while D43 goes through Baoding and Shijiazhuang.^[1] D39 and Z179 do not run from Beijing on Tuesdays, as the 12306 search showed for 20 and 27 October.^[1]

The cheapest way to travel overnight is a conventional train. Z179 leaves Beijing West at 18:20 and arrives at 06:51, K545 leaves at 13:40 and arrives at 06:12 after a long run through Taiyuan and Yan'an, and T55 starts from Beijing Fengtai at 15:42.^[1]

Classes and berths

On the G trains the choices are second class, first class and business class. For 26 and 27 October, 12306 showed second class at 494 to 587 yuan, first class at 790 to 939 yuan and business class at 1,729 to 1,945 yuan, depending on the train and the arrival station.^[1]

The D trains sell first class sleepers (408 to 488 yuan), second class sleepers (295 to 320 yuan) and second class seats (187 to 201 yuan).^[1] On Z, T and K trains, a hard sleeper costs 254.5 to 268.5 yuan, a soft sleeper 398.5 to 422.5 yuan and a hard seat 148.5 to 156.5 yuan. Z179 also sells a deluxe soft sleeper at 735.5 yuan.^[1]

How to book

Book on 12306 (website or app) or at a station ticket window. Tickets go on sale up to 15 days before departure.^[2] All tickets are real-name tickets, and foreign travellers buy them with a valid passport.^[3] The English 12306 site accepts only valid foreign passports.^[3]

The English website sells tickets from 05:00 to 01:00 the next day, and until 23:30 on Tuesdays.^[3] With an e-ticket you swipe your passport at the automatic gates or show it at the staff gate.^[2] If you change your plans, a refund is free more than 8 days before departure. After that, the fee is 5% more than 48 hours before departure, 10% between 24 and 48 hours, and 20% under 24 hours.^[3]

Stations

Most trains on this page use Beijing West in Beijing. T55 and T56 use Beijing Fengtai instead.^[1] In Xi'an, G trains arrive at Xi'an North, while most overnight trains, Z179, K545 and a few G trains use Xi'an station, so check the arrival station before you pay.^[1]

On board

Smoking is prohibited in EMU trains, and in the coaches of conventional trains.^[3] The free luggage allowance is 20 kg per adult, and a single item may not exceed 130 cm in total size on EMU trains and 160 cm on conventional trains.^[3]