By TANG Jun

Suzhou and Shanghai subways are to connect, so Suzhou residents will soon be able to go to Shanghai Disney Resort via Suzhou Metro Line 11 which will connect with Shanghai from July.

Suzhou’s Line 11 is in the last stages of construction work and is expected to begin test runs on March 1. Once put into operation, it is expected to make the commute between the two cities much faster.

Suzhou’s Line 11 has 28 stops between Weiting in Suzhou Industrial Park and Huaqiao in Kunshan. Suzhou and Shanghai subways are to connect via Shanghai Metro Line 11 at Huaqiao Station. Shanghai’s Line 11 starts from Huaqiao and ends at Shanghai Disney.

Put into operation in 2013, Shanghai Metro Line 11 was the first trans-provincial subway line in China as three stops, including Huaqiao, are located in Kunshan, in Jiangsu Province.

The subway allowed many people who work in Shanghai to move to Kunshan and commute. The journey time from Huaqiao to Jiangsu Road station in central Shanghai is around 60 minutes.

Official data showed that the three stops in Kunshan saw a huge increase of passenger flow from 26,500 people a day in 2013 to 62,000 in 2019.

A large number of inter-city railway improvements are underway in the Yangtze River Delta region, with Shanghai as the focal point for the region.

The new Shanghai East Railway Station, which will come up near Shanghai Pudong International Airport, will be close to Shanghai Disneyland Resort.