Z17/18 Beijing–Harbin through train

{{Infobox rail service

| box_width = 25em

| name = Z17/18 Beijing–Harbin through train

| color =

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| image =Board of Z17-18 and Z601-602 (20231007085347).jpg

| image_width = 300px

| caption = Destination board of the train as of October 2023

| type = Non-stop Express

| status = Operating

| locale = Beijing, Harbin

| first = {{Start date and age|2009|12|30|df=y}}

| last =

| operator = Harbin Railway Bureau

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| start = Beijing railway station

| stops =

| end = Harbin railway station

| distance = {{convert|1249|km|abbr=on}}

| journeytime = 10 hours, 06 minutes

| frequency = Daily each way

| class = Hard sleeper, soft sleeper

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The Z17/18 Beijing–Harbin through train is a non-stop express train between Beijing and Harbin, capital of the Heilongjiang province, operated by Harbin Railway Bureau using 25T carriages. The 1242 km journey spans across almost the entire Beijing–Harbin railway. The train from Beijing railway station to Harbin West railway station is numbered Z17, with a journey time of 9 hours and 57 minutes; while the train in the opposite direction is numbered Z18, with a journey time of 10 hours and 15 minutes. It is also the second non-stop express train between Beijing and Harbin, after Z15/16.

Launch and development

The train numbers Z17/18 were initially used on a route from Beijing to Changsha, which started service on 18 April 2004. This train was extended to Tianjin in 2015 and renumbered as Z206/7 and Z208/5.

In 2009, the only night trains between Harbin and Beijing were Z15/16 and T17/18, both facing high demand.{{Cite web|url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2007-04-24/014511699426s.shtml|title=哈尔滨——北京，坐"老火车"的多|date=24 April 2007|website=哈尔滨日报|access-date=28 April 2018}} As such, an additional pair of non-stop express train, numbered as Z1/2, was introduced in end 2009. One way journey took around 9 hours and 50 minutes. The train formation included 8 soft sleeper and 6 hard sleeper carriages,{{Cite web|url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2009-12-22/051616811883s.shtml|title=哈尔滨至北京Z字头特快列车原基础上再增开一趟|date=22 Dec 2009|website=哈尔滨日报|access-date=28 April 2018}} but this was changed to a full soft sleeper formation in 2010.

In 2016, the train swapped formation with Z203/4, another non-stop express train between Beijing and the province of Heilongjiang, giving its current formation mostly hard sleeper carriages. It was also renumbered as Z17/18.{{Cite web|url=http://www.12306.cn/mormhweb/zxdt_ggxx/201603/t20160316_4812.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321011857/http://www.12306.cn/mormhweb/zxdt_ggxx/201603/t20160316_4812.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 March 2016|title=哈尔滨铁路局关于修改前发《关于增开管内旅客列车等事项公告》的公告|date=16 March 2016|website=中国铁路客户服务中心|access-date=28 April 2018}}

In 2017, the train was amended to originate from and terminate at Harbin West railway station, as Harbin railway station undergoes renovation works.

Carriages

Currently, the train operates with mostly hard sleeper carriages, with a few soft sleeper carriages.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: small;" !Carriage number \|1-8	9-10	11-18
style="width: 10%;" \| Type \| style="width: 10%;" \|YW25T Hard sleeper (Chinese: 硬卧车) \| style="width: 10%;" \| RW25T Soft sleeper (Chinese: 软卧车) \| style="width: 10%;" \|YW25T Hard sleeper (Chinese: 硬卧车)

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: small;"

!Carriage number

|1-8

9-10

11-18

style="width: 10%;" | Type

| style="width: 10%;" |YW25T
Hard sleeper
(Chinese: 硬卧车)

| style="width: 10%;" | RW25T
Soft sleeper
(Chinese: 软卧车)

| style="width: 10%;" |YW25T
Hard sleeper
(Chinese: 硬卧车)

Locomotive

After swapping formation with Z203/4, the HXD3D electric locomotive is utilised throughout the entire journey, with a stop at Shenyang North railway station for a change of drivers.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: small;" !Section of journey \|Beijing－Harbin West
style="width: 10%;" \| Locomotive utilised \| style="width: 40%;" \| China Railways HXD3D Shenyang Railway Bureau Shenyang Depot (Chinese: 沈阳铁路局沈阳客运段)

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: small;"

!Section of journey

|Beijing－Harbin West

style="width: 10%;" | Locomotive utilised

| style="width: 40%;" | China Railways HXD3D
Shenyang Railway Bureau Shenyang Depot
(Chinese: 沈阳铁路局沈阳客运段)

Schedule

Updated as of 10 April 2018.

class="wikitable" ! colspan="2" \|Z17 ! rowspan="2" \|Stops ! colspan="2" \|Z18
Arrive\|\|Depart\|\|Arrive\|\|Depart
—	21:15	Beijing	07:49	—
07:12	—	Harbin West	—	21:34

class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Z17

! rowspan="2" |Stops

! colspan="2" |Z18

Arrive||Depart||Arrive||Depart

—

21:15

Beijing

07:49

—

07:12

—