Tonghu railway section marks first train test run
A train is ready for a test run along the Nantong-Shanghai railway.
A crew member operates the first test run along the Nantong-Shanghai railway.
The first test run on one section of the Tonghu railway, or Nantong-Shanghai railway, was conducted on Monday, marking a breakthrough on the project and another step toward its operation, China Railway Shanghai Group announced.
The first phase of the railway project is the Zhaodian-Huangdu section, stretching 137.5 kilometers over nine stations.
It starts in Nantong City in neighboring Jiangsu Province, and ends in Jiading District in Shanghai.
It crosses the Yangtze River and its nine stations are Zhaodian, Nantong West, Zhangjiagang North, Zhejiagang, Changshu, Taicang Port, Taicang, Taichang South and Anting West, according to the group.
The first test train on the railway departed Shanghai Railway Station at 12pm on Monday, and it had a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
The railway will connect northern Jiangsu and Shandong provinces via Yancheng-Nantong railway, which is at present under construction, Lianyungang-Yancheng railway, Nanjing-Qidong railway and Xinyi-Changxing railway, and link Zhejiang Province via Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, the group said.
It will improve the rail network of the Yangtze River Delta region and regional transport system, and is of major significance to promote the regional integration of the delta region, the group said.
Construction on the Zhaodian-Huangdu section of the railway started in August 2014, and involved the toil of tens of thousands of construction workers who conquered the difficulties brought by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the group said.
More test runs will be conducted to check the functioning of the tracks, power supply, network, telecommunications, signal and warning and monitoring system to ensure they are up to design standards and operation requirements, the group said.
After a series of test runs are completed, trial runs will be operated, the group said. The timetable has not been announced.
The second phase of the project is the Taicang-Situan section, starting from Taicang City in neighboring Jiangsu Province and ends in Fengxian District. Its timetable is yet to be announced.
