Yangtze Delta rail network moves step closer as work starts on Shanghai-Hangzhou section

A high-speed rail network linking cities in the Yangtze Delta took a step closer to completion this week when Shanghai started work on a line to Hangzhou.

The 29.7 billion yuan (HK$33.7 billion) connection, expected to be completed by next year, will join up with direct routes already being built between the two cities and Nanjing.

A large-scale groundbreaking ceremony officiated by Shanghai mayor Han Zheng and city party chief Yu Zhengsheng was held on Thursday. Reports of the ceremony dominated local media yesterday.

The start of the Shanghai-Hangzhou project coincides with the announcement by Shanghai officials that the city is also investigating the possibility of extending its subway network into towns in neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The move would further increase infrastructural integration of this important economic region.

The link from Shanghai to Hangzhou is expected to cut the journey for the 160km route from 78 minutes to 38 minutes.

The 251km Nanjing-Hangzhou link is expected to take around 50 minutes, a drastic reduction from the 5? hours it takes now. The trip from Shanghai to Nanjing will be cut from two hours to one.

Gu Jianguang, professor of public administration at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said improving infrastructure in the Yangtze River Delta was an integral step in the region's economic development.