A Beijing-Shanghai high-speed sleeper train is to debut on December 21, a newspaper in Beijing reported today.

The Beijing Morning Post report said two trains would depart from Shanghai and from Beijing respectively with departure times about 9:40pm with an interval of five minutes. The trip will take about 9h15m, which is two hours faster than current sleeper trains.

The shortest travel time for other trains between the two cities is 11.5 hours and the highest current price for sleeper tickets between the two cities is 499 yuan.

The trains are likely to be attractive to business passengers as they are comfortable and cheaper than flights, the report said.

Passengers can book the train tickets 10 days in advance.

(Shanghai Daily December 3, 2008)