Construction broke ground Wednesday on the Jiangsu section of the high-speed rail linking Nantong and Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu province and Jiaxing and Ningbo in east China’s Zhejiang Province.
The 301-km-long Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway, with 135 kilometers in Jiangsu, will constitute an important part of the coastal high-speed railway corridor of the country's medium and long-term railway network.
10 stations will be built along the whole line, including Nantong West Station, Zhangjiagang Station, Changshu West Station, Suzhou North Station, Suzhou South Station, Jiashan North Station, Jiaxing South Station, Haiyan Station, Cixi Station and Zhuangqiao Station.
This high-speed rail line connecting the two provinces will fully open the coastal high-speed rail corridor of China, further promote the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, accelerate the integration of northern Jiangsu into southern Jiangsu, and further enhance the function of region as a comprehensive transportation hub.
Ding Junhua, First-class Inspector of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Transportation
"The Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway will completely change the east-west railway transportation network in the region, obviously eliminate the shortcomings in the north-south longitudinal supply system of regional inter-city transportation, realize the rapid passenger transport between the north and south wings, and significantly shorten the space and time distance between major cities in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta", said Ding Junhua, First-class Inspector of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Transportation.
When opening to traffic in 2027, the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway will enable passengers from Suzhou and Nantong to travel to Zhejiang without bypassing Shanghai.
Along the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway, passengers can travel from Suzhou to Jiaxing in half an hour and to Ningbo in one hour.The travel time from Suzhou to Hangzhou is expected to be reduced to less than one hour. The journey from Nantong to Hangzhou can be shortened by about one and a half hours.
Pei Jianping, Vice President of the Comprehensive Planning Institute of Huashi Design Group
"The Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway will connect the coastal high-speed rail corridor, making it much smoother and straighter to travel from Nantong and Suzhou to Ningbo, and even to other coastal cities in Zhejiang and Fujian, which will be very important for the coordinated development of Jiangsu's southern, central and northern regions, and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta," said Pei Jianping, Vice President of the Comprehensive Planning Institute of Huashi Design Group.
Kong Demang, Director of Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway
"This railway will cross the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway, the Beijing-Shanghai railway, two subways, four rivers and lakes. Therefore, we will put into use two 14.8m super large diameter shield machines to ensure that the construction is completed on time with high quality and high standards," said Kong Demang, Director of Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo high-speed railway.
