Originally Posted by moondog

Which trains were speed up? I just checked Shanghai-Beijing on 12306, and the fastest trains are still 4:48 (G2, G4, G8). Incidentally, G8 is a welcome addition to the schedule because it makes it possible to work an entire day before leaving.

Regarding the decrease from 350 to 300, this happened after that accident in ~2010, and safety was the stated reason for the change. However, since that accident had nothing to do with the speed of travel, I have long suspected that saving money was the --behind the scenes-- reason. During testing of the Jing-Hu Line, I recall reading that some trains were run at very high speeds (e.g. 450).