Tonghu railway's first phase starts July 1

The first phase of the Tonghu railway, or the Nantong-Shanghai railway, will operate from July 1 with 46 bullet train round trips a day, China Railway Shanghai Group announced on Tuesday.

There will also be six cargo train round trips a day.

The first phase of the railway project is the Zhaodian-Huangdu section, stretching 137.5 kilometers with nine stations.

It starts in Nantong and ends in Shanghai’s Jiading District. The railway cuts the travel time between Shanghai and Nantong to 90 minutes from four hours.

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.

It has 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 the 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 in promoting regional integration of the delta region.

From July 1, 1,165 train trips will run daily in the Yangtze River Delta region, 53 more than present.