Another Metro line to reach Jiangsu Province

A Metro line which will link Shanghai's western districts of Jiading and Minhang, the J-M Line, is to be extended to Taicang in neighboring Jiangsu Province.

The project was included in a new planning document published by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport.

It will facilitate travel in the Yangtze River Delta region as the line passes Hongqiao Railway Station.

It's estimated that travel times from Taicang to downtown Shanghai will be reduced to under an hour after the line is completed.

It will also connect with the Shanghai-Nantong Railway and the railway from Shanghai to Changzhou, another city in Jiangsu Province, via Suzhou and Wuxi.

It will be the second Metro line in Shanghai to extend to the province. Line 11 has three stations in Kunshan's Huaqiao Town.

The Shanghai government plans to start construction before 2023, with the project taking six years to complete.

There will be 15 stations on the line, not including the part extending to Taicang.

The line has interchange stations with Lines 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14.