With construction of the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway underway, "Living in Suzhou and Zhejiang, while working in Shanghai" will become possible

In the near future, some people may be able to work in Shanghai during the day and return to their homes in Suzhou in the evening. Yesterday, Huang Rong, Director of Shanghai Urban Construction and Communications, revealed that the transportation integration of the Yangtze River Delta will be sped up and that Shanghai rail transit will be extended to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. At the same time, the Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Hangzhou-Ningbo, Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway constructions will begin one after another. This form of convenient commuting will allow a number of people to live a "migratory bird lifestyle" in the Yangtze River Delta.

Line 11 may be extended to Kunshan

According to Huang, as well as having the bus line exchange to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, construction of the Shanghai rail transit will also be extended to neighboring provinces and cities. Also, Line 11 will be extended to Jiading. Kunshan in Jiangsu has also taken the initiative to suggest building a direct transit line with Shanghai. Shanghai is now actively consulting with the Suzhou city government and Jiangsu Province on the future extension of Line 11 to directly connect with Kunshan.

Huang stated that the transportation integration of the Yangtze River Delta is not limited to road transportation; the scheme also aims to integrate railway transport. Gradually over time, Shanghai rail transit will connect Kunshan in Jiangsu and Jiaxing in Zhejiang. Other cities in neighboring provinces also hope to connect with Shanghai. Neighboring provinces are gradually improving their rail transit planning while Shanghai is actively cooperating with them to speed up construction of Shanghai's rail transportation.

According to information, Shanghai transportation construction is taking the opportunity of the World Expo to lay foundations for a new round of Shanghai City Development following the Expo. The World Expo's dedicated road network construction and water transportation are examples of constructions that are laying foundations for future transportation integration of the Yangtze River Delta. In 2009, Shanghai will further promote the construction of the International Shipping Center. The city's construction and transportation departments will focus on infrastructure construction such as road networks and container routes, and will carry out river dredging, especially the clearing of adjacent rivers connecting Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Yangtze River Delta high-speed rail network forming gradually

A Yangtze River Delta "one-or-two hour traffic loop" is forming. Construction of the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway started yesterday. This will not only connect to the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, but will also connect the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway, the Nanjing-Hangzhou passenger lines, and the Hangzhou-Ningbo passenger lines to form a high-speed railway network in the Yangtze River Delta.

In 2010, upon completion of the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway, which will have a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour and will mean that travel between Shanghai and Nanjing will take less than an hour. With the same planned top speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the Nanjing-Hangzhou passenger line also began construction at the end of last year. The Nanjing-Hangzhou railway will not only directly connect Hangzhou, Nanjing and neighboring towns, it will help reduce the travel time from Hangzhou to Nanjing from five hours to less than one hour, shortening the distance between Shanghai and these two cities.

Upon completion of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway passenger line, which has a target speed of 350 kilometers per hour, it will take about 30 minutes to travel between Shanghai and Hangzhou, nearly 50 minutes less than the Shanghai-Hangzhou EMU trains. The "same city effect" will be further heightened.

In addition, at the end of last year, construction began on the Hangzhou-Ningbo passenger line. With a planned speed of 250 kilometers per hour, allowing for further acceleration needs, the project is to be completed within four years. Upon the completion of the Hangzhou-Ningbo high-speed railway, there will be connections with the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway. Travel from Ningbo to Shanghai will take approximately 80 minutes. Upon integration with the Nanjing-Hangzhou passenger line, travel from Ningbo to Nanjing will take about 100 minutes.

According to information, upon completion of railways such as the Shanghai-Hangzhou, Hangzhou-Ningbo, Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou high-speed railways, a "one-or-two hour traffic loop" will form in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo and other major cities in the Yangtze River Delta area. This will further accelerate the integration of the regions cities and towns, and will enhance the regional linking effect.

"Migratory bird lifestyle" will become an option

Facilitating convenient transportation in the Yangtze River Delta area will also help people begin the "migratory bird lifestyle" of "living in Suzhou and Zhejiang, while working in Shanghai." Yesterday, there were heated discussions among residents on a Jiangsu Huaqiao community online forum regarding the Shanghai rail transit extension to Kunshan in Jiangsu. "I support the project, I finally have something to look forward to," read a post from one resident. That resident works in Shanghai and had bought property in Huaqiao because of its low price. Now the resident rides the shuttle bus to Zhongshan Park for nearly 50 minutes every morning, and finds it very inconvenient. With the rail transit completed, the resident will not have to exhaust himself commuting everyday.

Prior to this, some residents have already changed their daily lives due to the higher speed of the EMU. The train ride now takes just 18 minutes from Shanghai to Kunshan. People are already beginning to choose "working in Shanghai, while living in Kunshan."

Reporters：Zhong Hui, Chen Shu Yi and Song Jie

Source：Shanghai Morning Post