<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> The Beijing--Shanghai High - Speed Railway (or Jinghu High - Speed Railway from its Chinese name) is a 1,318 - kilometre (819 mi) long high - speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China, the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta . Construction began on April 18, 2008, and a ceremony to mark the completion of track laying was held on November 15, 2010 . The line opened to the public for commercial service on June 30, 2011 . This rail line is the world's longest high - speed line ever constructed in a single phase . It is China's most profitable high speed rail line, reporting a 6.6 billion yuan net operational profit in 2015 . </P> <P> Under former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, the railway line was the first one designed for a maximum speed of 380 km / h in commercial operations . The non-stop train from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao was expected to finish the 1,305 kilometres (811 mi) journey in 3 hours and 58 minutes, averaging 329 kilometres per hour (204 mph), making it the fastest scheduled train in the world, compared to 9 hours and 49 minutes on the fastest trains running on the parallel conventional railway . However, following Liu Zhijun's dismissal in February 2011, several major changes were announced . First, trains would be slowed to a maximum speed of 300 km / h (186 mph), reducing operating costs . At this speed, the fastest trains would take 4 hours and 48 minutes to travel from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao, making one stop at Nanjing South . Additionally, a slower class of trains running at 250 km / h (155 mph) would be operated, making more stops and charging lower fares . On September 21, 2017 350 km / h operation was restored with the introduction of China Standardized EMU reducing travel times between Beijing and Shanghai to about 4 hours and 30 minutes on the fastest scheduled trains . </P>

Distance between shanghai and beijing by bullet train