Shanghai–Suzhou–Nantong railway, abbreviated as Husutong railway (, "Hu", "Su" and "Tong" being the abbreviations for Shanghai, Suzhou and Nantong, respectively) is a

higher-speed rail Higher-speed rail (HrSR) is used to describe inter-city passenger rail services that have top speeds of more than conventional rail but are not high enough to be called high-speed rail services. The term is also used by planners to identify the ...

way in China's

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD), once known as the Shanghai Economic Zone, is a megalopolis generally comprising the Wu-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, southern Anhui. The area lies in the he ...

area, connecting

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, the region's main city located south of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

, with

Nantong Nantong is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north; Taizhou to the west; Suzhou, Wux ...

Jiangsu province Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

, north of the river. The railway is in length and traverses several county-level cities in Suzhou Municipality of Jiangsu along the south bank of the Yangtze including

Zhangjiagang Zhangjiagang (), formerly Shazhou County (), is a county-level city under the administration of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China and one of the many ports along the Yangtze river. With 1,246,762 inhabitants as of the 2010 census, the city is now ...

Changshu Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the Yangt ...

and

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates ...

.(Chinese
林小昭, "沪苏通铁路今开通，上海大都市圈迎加快发展新契机" 第一财经
2020-07-01(Chinese

2020-07-01 The railway is designed to accommodate maximum train speeds of , the operation of electric traction hauled double-stack container trains and has reduced train travel time from Nantong to Shanghai to just over one hour.

History

Initially proposed as the Shanghai–Nantong railway (Abbreviated as Hutong railway), construction works began on the first phase of the project in March 2014, and was expected to take five and a half years. The railway began operation on July 1, 2020. The second phase of the railway, from Taicang to Situan, was approved in September 2021.

Route

The railway includes of new tracks, from Zhaodian railway station () on the

Nanjing–Qidong railway The Nanjing–Qidong railway ( zh, s=南京–启东铁路, t=南京–啟東鐵路, hp=Nánjīng–Qǐdōng tiělù), commonly referred to in short as the Ningqi railway ( zh, s=宁启铁路, t=寧啟鐵路, hp=Níngqǐ tiělù), is a higher-spe ...

northwest of downtown Nantong to Huangdu railway station on the

Beijing–Shanghai railway The Beijing–Shanghai railway or Jinghu railway () is a railway line between Beijing and Shanghai. The line has a total length of and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, ...

, in the northwestern part of Shanghai City. Anting being within of

Shanghai railway station Shanghai railway station ( zh, s=上海站, t=上海站, p=Shànghǎi Zhàn; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Zae'') is one of the four major railway stations in Shanghai, China, the others being Shanghai South, Shanghai Hongqiao, and Shanghai West ( ...

, the total railway distance from Nantong to Shanghai is under . The railway crosses the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

over the new

Hutong Yangtze River Bridge The Husutong Yangtze River Bridge is a combined rail and road bridge which crosses the Yangtze River in Jiangsu, China. It is the easternmost railway crossing of the Yangtze River. Construction began on 1 March 2014. The bridge opened on 1 July ...

between Nantong and Zhangjiagang, a double-deck bridge with a 4-track railway on the lower deck and a six-lane roadway on the upper deck. The bridge is the world's longest span ()

cable-stayed A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

road-rail bridge with the highest () piers of a cable-stayed road-rail bridge. The bridge is the easternmost railway crossing of the Yangtze. Previously, the only railway crossing in the Yangtze Delta region was a freight-only

rail ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to t ...

on the Xinyi–Changxing railway, between Jingjiang and

Jiangyin Jiangyin (, Jiangyin dialect: ) is a county-level city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. It is administered by the Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Jiangyin is an important transport hub on the Yangtze River and one of the most developed counties ...

, some upstream. The closest railway bridge is the

Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge (), previously called the First Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, is a Bridge#Double-decked bridges, double-decked List of road-rail bridges, road-rail truss bridge across the Yangtze River in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China conne ...

, over upstream. The new bridge thus greatly improves the railway connections between the Central

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

(the region north of the Yangtze) and the

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

, in particular Shanghai. On its way between the new bridge and Anting, the railway has brought rail service for the first time to prosperous communities on the southern bank of the Yangtze such as

, and

which had no railway connection.

Railway Stations

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanghai-Nantong Railway Railway lines in China Rail transport in Jiangsu Rail transport in Shanghai Railway lines opened in 2020