The team tasked with the construction of a railway connecting Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang broke ground on the project Wednesday. This will be the first commuter rail line in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta Region.

Seen as one of the key projects to drive the integrated development of the region, the line will connect industrial parks and business districts with residential neighborhoods, providing a less stressed way for staff to get to and from their new workplaces. There is little history of commuting in China in the American or European sense. However, public transportation around new business areas is often inadequate, and workers are no longer choosing to live on their employers’ doorsteps.

Coming at a total cost of 43.4 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion), the Shanghai section of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiashan railway - a demonstration line covering 49 kilometers - will run through Minhang and Qingpu districts when it is completed in 2028.

By then, passengers will be able to transfer between regional rail services and Metro Line 17. They will also connect with another new regional railway that has been planned to join Line 17 at Qingpu Xincheng Station.

The next section will begin at Jinze, a historic water town in the west of Qingpu District close to the border with Jiangsu Province. The line will then make its way through Suzhou to Nanxun, another water town, this time in the city of Huzhou of Zhejiang Province. The section will cover approximately 66 kilometers.

The last section of the line will cover another 55 kilometers from Huzhou to Jiaxing. Once the new mini network is completed, people from Shanghai will be able to enjoy a hassle-free journey to neighboring Jiaxing and Huzhou with unprecedented convenience.

Source: Jiemian