Which train station do I use in Chengdu: East, South or West?
It depends on your train, so read the departure station on your ticket. The three stations covered here are Chengdu East (成都东), Chengdu South (成都南) and Chengdu West (成都西). In a 12306 search made on 8 October 2026 for travel on 15 October 2026, Chengdu East had the most trains on every route below, Chengdu South had trains on six of the seven, and Chengdu West on five. That is one day's snapshot, not a rule, and timetables change.
Read the station name on the ticket
The 12306 English site writes the departure stations as Chengdudong (成都东), Chengdunan (成都南), Chengduxi (成都西) and Xipu (犀浦). Arrival names also differ from what you might expect: Chongqing trains were listed as arriving at Chongqingbei, Chongqingxi, Shapingba and others, and Emei trains at Emeishan (峨眉山) or Emei (峨眉).
Which Chengdu station for trains to Chongqing, Jiuzhaigou, Xi'an, Guiyang and Kunming?
This table shows how many trains 12306 listed from each station in a search made on 8 October 2026 (Beijing time) for travel on 15 October 2026. It counts trains on sale and leaves out trains whose sale was paused. A train that stops at two Chengdu stations is counted at both, so the numbers in a row can add up to more than the trains on that route. The Emeishan and Guiyang rows give the number for each arrival station; a train that stops at two of those stations would be in both. "None shown" means no train from that station appeared in that search.
| Route | Chengdu East | Chengdu South | Chengdu West | Xipu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chongqing | 120 | 10 | 5 | None shown |
| Huanglong Jiuzhai | 11 | 1 | 1 | None shown |
| Leshan | 50 | 13 | None shown | 2 |
| Emeishan | 16 to Emeishan, 10 to Emei | 9 to Emei, 5 to Emeishan | 3, all to Emei | 2 to Emeishan, 1 to Emei |
| Xi'an | 67 | None shown | 6 | None shown |
| Guiyang | 37 to Guiyangbei, 29 to Guiyangdong, 10 to Guiyang | 7 to Guiyangbei; 1 each to Guiyangdong, Guiyang and Guian | None shown | None shown |
| Kunming | 15 | 7 | 2 | None shown |
A few examples from that search. Prices are second-class seat prices as 12306 listed them for 15 October 2026. A price followed by ‘labelled N% off’ carried that discount label on 12306, so it is already discounted and the full fare is higher; a price with no label after it had none on the page. Fares change with the train and the date. K and Z trains show no second-class price.
- Chongqing: from Chengdu East, the first train was D3058 at 06:10 to Chongqingbei (2h24m, ¥85.0, labelled 24% off) and the fastest was G8609 at 09:25 to Shapingba (1h2m, ¥148.0, labelled 9% off). From Chengdu South, the first was D6197 at 09:24 to Chongqingbei (2h35m, ¥115.0, labelled 5% off). The five Chengdu West trains were all to Chongqingbei, mostly K and Z trains of 2h48m to 5h26m.
- Jiuzhaigou area: the search was for Huanglong Jiuzhai arrivals. Chengdu East had 11 trains, 9 to Huanglongjiuzhai and 3 to Songpan (C5782 stops at both), from C5746 at 06:14 (1h39m, ¥130.0, labelled 9% off) to C5786 at 18:38 (2h10m, ¥143.0, no label). Chengdu South had one train, C16 at 08:27 (2h47m, ¥136.0, labelled 8% off), and Chengdu West one, D280 at 16:02 (2h25m, ¥129.0, labelled 9% off). This covers the train only, not how to get from the arrival station to the park.
- Xi'an: Chengdu East had 67 trains, most to Xianbei, and the fastest was G322 at 06:56 to Xianbei (3h9m, ¥285.0, labelled 9% off). The 6 Chengdu West trains were all slow trains of about 11h6m to 15h30m, depending on the arrival station. No Chengdu South train to Xi'an appeared.
- Guiyang: the fastest from Chengdu East was G239 at 08:16 to Guiyangdong (3h1m, ¥277.0, labelled 6% off). The fastest from Chengdu South was G5393 at 09:10 to Guiyangbei (3h2m, ¥285.0, labelled 3% off).
- Kunming: the fastest from Chengdu East was G2803 at 07:54 to Kunmingnan (5h51m, ¥527.0, labelled 4% off). Chengdu South had D261 at 16:38 to Kunming (7h8m, ¥264.0, labelled 7% off). Chengdu West had D279 at 14:17 (7h27m, ¥272.0, labelled 7% off) and Z371 at 23:46 (8h29m).
If you need to change or cancel a ticket, the fees are on our 12306 refund and change fees page.
How to get from Chengdu East, South and West stations into the city by metro
All three stations have a metro station. On Chengdu Rail Transit Group's network map, the metro stations carry different names from the railway stations:
| Railway station | Metro station on the map | Lines | Neighbouring stops on the map |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chengdu East (成都东) | Chengdu East Railway Station (成都东客站) | Line 2 and Line 7 | Line 2: Tazishan Park, Chengyu Flyover. Line 7: Yinghui Road, Daguan. |
| Chengdu South (成都南) | South Railway Station (火车南站) | Lines 1, 7 and 18 | Line 1: Tongzilin, Hi-Tech Zone. Line 7: Shenxianshu, Sanwayao. |
| Chengdu West (成都西) | Chengdu West Railway Station (成都西站) | Line 4 and Line 9 | Line 4: Zhongba, Qingjiang West Road. Line 9: Huangtianba. |
The map says it is a stylized diagram and does not reflect the actual route. It draws Line 7 as a loop that passes both Chengdu East and South. A separate stop also named Chengdu West Railway Station is the end of Chengdu Tram Line 2 (有轨电车蓉2号线), joined to the metro station by the map's "transfer outside the station" symbol. The 2023 and 2022 notices below agree with the map on Lines 1, 7 and 18 at South and Lines 4 and 9 at West.
Can I transfer from the train to the metro at Chengdu South without a second security check?
Yes, in that direction. A Chengdu Metro Group notice dated 28 April 2023 says that from 28 April the metro station at Chengdu South started a "railway-to-metro convenient transfer" mode. If you arrive by train, you can go through a link passage into the metro area without leaving the station and without a second security check. Then you buy a ticket and ride.
The other direction is different. The notice says that, because of the transfer conditions at the time, passengers going from the metro to the railway still pass railway security before entering the waiting hall. That was the position in April 2023.
The notice also describes a "same-station street-crossing" service, so you can pick the exit that suits your destination. You can pass the gates with a physical card (single-journey tickets and day tickets excepted), an app QR code or face scan. If you have no ticket, or a single-journey or day ticket, you collect a "convenience service card" at the security check and enter the paid area through the side gate. Same-station passage is free within 15 minutes.
For the other two stations, there is less. The notice says the South approach drew on experience at metro Chengdu East Railway Station (成都东客站) and Xipu station, but it does not spell out the rules for East. It says nothing about Chengdu West. Neither the 2023 South Station notice nor the 2022 Chengdu West notice from Chengdu Metro Group gives a no-second-security statement for these two stations.
Chengdu West station: what a 2022 notice says
These details come from a Chengdu Metro Group notice dated 10 October 2022, so check them against the signs in the station.
- Chengdu West combines railway, tram, metro and bus. The metro station is on Lines 4 and 9, and Chengdu West is the starting station of tram Rong 2.
- Metro station exit D is the way from the station forecourt into the metro. The area near exit B connects to buses and the tram. Taxis are on basement level 1, and ride-hailing and private cars on basement level 2.
- The notice calls Chengdu West a gateway to western Sichuan and the starting station of the Sichuan-Tibet and Chengya railways, with lines to Qionglai, Ya'an and western Sichuan.
A Chengdu Daily report of 11 October 2022 says a new waiting hall at Chengdu West opened that day. At that time gates 1 and 2 were in the old station building, gates 3 to 5 on the first floor of the new hall and gates 6 to 8 on the second floor. It advised passengers to find the gate for their train on the screens inside the station.
Is the old Chengdu Railway Station (the "North Railway Station") still open?
The official notices on this are from 2022, and they say it closed to passengers. A Chengdu Metro Group notice of 10 October 2022 says that from 11 October the railway Chengdu Station (火车北站) would stop passenger service for expansion work. A Chengdu Daily report of 11 October 2022 says passenger service stopped at 00:00 that day, and that trains starting and ending there were moved to Chengdu West, Chengdu East and other stations.
A Sichuan Daily report of 7 October 2022 expected the whole project to be finished in early 2026. None of these 2022 pages says whether it has reopened, and this page does not state either way.
What we can say comes from 12306: in the seven searches made on 8 October 2026 for travel on 15 October 2026, 12306 listed no train departing from Chengdu (成都), the old station. The departure stations shown were Chengdu East, Chengdu South, Chengdu West and Xipu. Whatever its status, the station name printed on your ticket settles where you go.
Can I take a train from Chengdu East or South to Shuangliu Airport, Leshan or Mount Emei?
Yes, the lines connect them. Chengdu Shuangliu Airport's English Inter-city Rail page (undated; its footer shows 2022) lists the stops in order. On the Chengdu-Mianyang-Leshan line, Chengdu East (Metro Transfer Station) and Chengdu South (Metro Transfer Station) come before Shuangliu Airport (Airport, Metro, Train Transfer Station), then Shuangliu West, on to Leshan and Mountain Emei, which is the page's spelling. The Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed line runs Chengdu East, Chengdu South, Shuangliu Airport and on through Leshan to Guiyang East. A Chengdu-Zigong-Luzhou line also lists Chengdu South and Shuangliu Airport, but no East stop.
The page names the train entrance from the airport as T2: Passage L3 on the B2. It does not list Chengdu West. It gives no timetable or fares and says stops, fares and timetables follow the railway booking website, or you can call 12306.
The 12306 search made on 8 October 2026 for travel on 15 October 2026 fits this. Leshan had 50 trains from Chengdu East (first C6213 at 06:15, 46m, ¥54.0; last D1947 at 21:49, 58m, ¥54.0), 13 from Chengdu South (first C5651 at 06:51, 47m, ¥51.0; fastest G5415 at 10:26, 41m, ¥51.0) and 2 from Xipu. For Emei, Chengdu East had 16 trains to Emeishan and 10 to Emei (first C6273 at 06:34 to Emeishan, 1h15m, ¥33.0, labelled 49% off), and Chengdu South had 9 to Emei and 5 to Emeishan (first D251 at 07:05 to Emei, 1h19m, ¥49.0). These are counts per arrival station, so a train that stops at both is in both numbers. Chengdu West had 3 trains, all to Emei: K257 at 05:36 (1h48m) and Z57 at 19:02 (1h38m). The page lists two arrival stations, Emeishan (峨眉山) and Emei (峨眉), so check which one is on your ticket.
How to reach the Chengdu Panda Base from a station is not covered here; see Chengdu Panda Base tickets and timing, and for the city in general, the Chengdu travel guide.
