New high-speed rail line in Yangtze River Delta launches trial runs

High-speed train attendants welcome passengers to the G55505 train. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

A new high-speed railway line connecting Shanghai to the cities of Suzhou and Huzhou in East China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces began trial operations on Nov 23, marking a milestone in an infrastructure project set to further integrate the economically vital Yangtze River Delta region.

At 9:27 am, the first trial operation train, G55505, departed from Shanghai Hongqiao Station, running along the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail line, and arrived at the destination Huzhou Station in Zhejiang at 10:10 am.

The 163-kilometer Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail line has a designed operating speed of 350 km/h. The entire line features eight stations, with two existing stations and six new ones.

Upon completion, the high-speed rail journey from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Huzhou Station will be reduced from around two hours to about one hour.

The trial operations will continue for around a month, with the line expected to be ready for official operations by late December, according to China Railway Shanghai Group.

"The Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail is a significant infrastructure interconnection project for Shanghai, Suzhou and Huzhou. It is also a key project for the Yangtze River Delta region's high-speed rail network integration, densification and enhancement," said Feng Chenglin, deputy head of the Shanghai railway hub project of China Railway Shanghai Group Co Ltd.

Feng noted that after its official opening, the new line will effectively alleviate transport pressure on the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou rail corridors.

"This is crucial for promoting high-quality integrated development in the region," Feng added.

Wei Qiang, a senior engineer from the China Railway Shanghai Group Co Ltd, said that the trial operations mainly involve testing operating schedules, simulating faults, conducting emergency rescue drills, and on-schedule operations in line with test outlines.

This comprehensive test simulates official operations to examine areas like rail transport organization, train dispatching, operating density, and equipment status, providing a scientific basis for the formal launch. The trial operation utilizes regular high-speed train models, with stations simulating passenger services along the route.

Wei revealed that after breaking ground in June 2020, the entire line was connected in track-laying by June 2024, followed by static acceptance in August and integrated commissioning and testing in September.

Since then, various test trains have been deployed at different speed levels, completing a total of over 770 test runs and 52,000 kilometers of testing mileage, with integrated test trains reaching a maximum speed of 385 km/h while safely and efficiently fulfilling all commissioning and testing tasks, said Wei.