(Yicai) Dec. 26 -- The launch of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway today brings the total rail network in the Yangtze River Delta to over 15,000 kilometers, with high-speed lines accounting for more than half of the total.

The new 164-kilometer route connects Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Huzhou in Zhejiang province, operating at speeds up to 350 km per hour and cutting travel time to 55 minutes, half the previous duration, Yicai learned.

The line will initially operate 38 trains daily at most, with service expected to expand to a maximum of 229 trains, including three loop lines, by the first quarter of next year, China Railway Shanghai Group told Yicai.

This addition enhances the region's railway network, bringing the eastern megacity closer to northwest Zhejiang and southern Anhui, the railway group said. This connectivity is crucial for promoting economic and social development and further integrating eastern China's most economically advanced region, it added.

The state-owned railway group continues to improve regional connectivity. In June, it launched the Super Loop Line, a 1,200-km route that connects Shanghai with Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces before returning to Shanghai, completing the circuit in around eight hours.

Editor: Emmi Laine