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Shanghai to extend light rails to neighboring provinces

By Qian Yanfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-27 07:38

SHANGHAI: Residents in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will find it easier to travel to Shanghai with the extension of the city's rail network to other cities in the Yangtze River Delta in the near future, local authorities said Thursday.

Talks are under way to extend Shanghai's light railway into Suzhou in Jiangsu and Jiaxing in Zhejiang, to make it more convenient for people in these neighboring cities to visit the financial hub both during and after the 2010 World Expo, Huang Rong, director of the municipal urban and rural construction and transportation committee, said in an online chat at local portal eastdays.com.

He said the government is also talking with other cities in the region to further promote transportation integration in the delta.

"Such close transportation links are not only in the interests of the World Expo, but also for the benefit of Yangtze River Delta's regional integration in the long run," he said.

About 30 percent of the estimated 70 million visitors to the World Expo will hail from the Yangtze River Delta, according to Zhou Wei, deputy director of the municipal transportation and port administration bureau.

Making it easier for these people to travel to the city is of critical importance, he said, adding that Shanghai's long-distance coach service is now able to reach all the major counties in the delta.

The next step, he said, is to accelerate integration of bus services, making it possible for people with a Shanghai public transportation card to ride on buses in other cities in the region.

According to Huang, Shanghai will also work more closely with neighboring cities to connect their shipping routes by dredging and widening obstructed riverways to meet ever-growing shipping needs.

Meanwhile, railroad construction within the region is making headway, with construction on three high-speed railways - between Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou - all having kicked off.

When the lines are completed, travel time between the cities is projected to be less than one hour.

Within Shanghai, the local government has pledged to complete 500 km of rail transportation network while making bus services accessible to all the 1,100 villages in the rural areas before the World Expo.

The city will also accelerate the renovation of old buses to ensure safety and protect the environment. Environmentally friendly vehicles will make up 70 percent of the city's public vehicles by 2012 compared with 30 percent now, Zhou said.