New train to link Pudong-Hongqiao in less than 40 minutes

A metro line linking Shanghai's airports in Pudong and Hongqiao will be completed in 2024.

It will shorten travel between the two airports to under 40 minutes, from the current of more than 90.

A senior official said construction is ahead of schedule, despite the pandemic.

The 68.66-kilometer express line will have nine stations across Xuhui and Minhang districts as well as the Pudong New Area, with three main parts –Puxi, Pudong and the cross-river sections.

Construction began in 2019 and the express line is one of China's first batch of 11 demonstration city railways approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top planning body.

Construction is expected to take altogether 60 months. The top speed of trains will be 160 kilometers and hour – twice that of the Shanghai Metro.

It will connect with the nation's railway system and the intercity transport network of the Yangtze River Delta region, supporting the national strategy of higher-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, said Li Shuxun, deputy director of the construction and transportation commission of the Pudong New Area.