Urban Airport Line Starts Operation, Connecting More than Just Shanghai

In late December, news about Shanghai’s transportation network construction has been continuously emerging. On December 26th, the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway (hereinafter referred to as “Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou HSR”), the first high-speed railway to traverse the two provinces and one city of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, was opened for operation. On the 27th, Shanghai Metro’s Airport Link Line (hereinafter referred to as “Airport Link Line”), which connects the two major airports of Hongqiao and Pudong, also began initial operations.

The Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou HSR is a new route that links Shanghai, the economic capital of China, Suzhou, the strongest prefecture-level city in China, and Huzhou, the birthplace of the “two-mountain” concept. The Airport Link Line is one of the first batch of urban demonstration lines in China and the first newly built line in Shanghai’s urban rail transit network, connecting Hongqiao and Pudong, two major transportation hubs that are closely connected to the world through air travel.

The opening of these two major transportation lines has brought multiple impacts. The operation of these trains not only benefits Shanghai but also the Yangtze River Delta region. At a deeper level, the improvement of Shanghai’s comprehensive transportation system as an international metropolis will further promote China’s high-level opening up.

The “Third Channel”

The Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou HSR starts at Shanghai Hongqiao Station, passes through Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, and connects to Huzhou in Zhejiang Province. With a total length of 164 kilometers and a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, this railway runs horizontally across Jiangsu and Zhejiang, forming a “golden belt” for the Yangtze River Delta region.

Although the Yangtze River Delta is one of the most densely populated and most convenient areas in China for high-speed rail networks, Huzhou has long been eager for a direct high-speed rail connection to Shanghai, which is only about 100 kilometers apart. Previously, trains from Huzhou to Shanghai had to travel via Hangzhou, taking up to two hours. Now, with the opening of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou HSR, the journey from Hongqiao Station to Huzhou Station is about 55 minutes. Every day, more than 100 pairs of trains will run between Shanghai and Huzhou, with a journey time of just over 30 minutes to get to Songjiang Station. This means that “Shanghai-Huzhou integration” has become a reality.

Not only does the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou HSR benefit Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but also Anhui Province. In the future, cities such as Xuancheng, Wuhu, Anqing, and Chizhou in Anhui can save a lot of travel time by going through Huzhou and Suzhou instead of detouring through Nanjing on the Shanghai-Nanjing channel.

Zhang Shangwu, a professor at Tongji University who has been following the development of Shanghai’s metropolitan area closely said that the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou railway can be seen as the “third channel” connecting Shanghai to the interior of the Yangtze River Delta. The previous two channels were the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou railways. The new line directly connects Shanghai to the central regions of the Yangtze River, reaching Anhui Province. The opening of this railway will further optimize resource allocation and division of labor in this region.

“The train is about to ring and thousands of gold are around.” This high-speed rail has not only shortened the traffic connection between the Yangtze River Delta regions but also accelerated the economic development of urban agglomerations in this region. In recent years, Huzhou has actively supported more than 400 key projects in Shanghai’s industrial chain with the introduction of more than 350 industrial projects with an investment of more than 300 million yuan from Shanghai in the past three years. This number will surely increase in the future.

Not only does “Su Xi Chang” get closer to Shanghai geographically but also “Hang Shao Ning” and “Ning Bo Zhou,” which are now not only seen as geographical terms but also symbols representing rapid regional economic development. With the opening of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou railway, the flow of resource elements and market circulation in the Yangtze River Delta has entered a new stage, making “Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou” a new regional economic term.

From Shanghai to Connecting the World
Not only does Shanghai connect closely with the Yangtze River Delta, but it also plays a pivotal role as an international city connecting deeply with the world. As China’s largest international aviation port, one quarter of China’s inbound and outbound passengers and half of its international logistics flow through Shanghai’s airports. In recent years, more and more foreign tourists