Both the Shanghai Railway and Hongqiao Train Station have bullet trains going regularly to Suzhou, ticket costs range from 40 RMB to 80 RMB depending on seating class.
Bullet trains form Shanghai to Suzhou take around 40 minutes and operate between 6am and 11pm outside of these times operates a slow train to Suzhou from the Shanghai Railway station.
The fastest way from Pudong Airport to Suzhou by Train
Take the Maglev train from Pudong (PVG) airport to longyang road subway station – here you have the option to either take a taxi or subway to Shanghai Railway Station or Hongqiao train station.
Taking a Taxi to Shanghai Railway Station should cost around 50 RMB and 70 RMB to Hongqiao train station.
The Cheapest way from Pudong Airport to Suzhou by Train
You can take like 2 directly from Pudong PGV airport to Hongqiao train station which takes around 60 minuites and costs less than $5.00
IMPORTANT Notes:
– The Hongqiao train station is a very new, clean and modern train station whereas the Shanghai Railway Station is older and busier.
– Foreigners cannot purchase train tickets from ticketing machines as they require Chinese ID cards, you will need to take your passport to the ticketing desk which can be extremely busy and expect waits of up to 1hour, especially at the Shanghai Railway Station.
– Watch out for pickpockets, there are plenty of thefts of mobile phones, wallets etc…especially at the Shanghai Railway Station, We have witnessed thefts regularly at the Shanghai Railway Station of mobile phones, money snatched from hands etc..
– Traveling from the Hongqiao train station is a much more pleasant experience than the Shanghai Railway Station.