Daily Times

On Saturday, Line 11 of the Suzhou metro went into operation, linking the city of Suzhou, a major GDP contributor in east China’s Jiangsu Province, with Shanghai, another economic heavyweight in the region. This is the first time that the core cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have linked their separate urban subway systems transcending administrative boundaries and geographical barriers in different provincial-level regions. The newly launched Line 11 of the Suzhou metro is also part of Line 11 of the Shanghai metro, according to the subway design. The trans-provincial subway line can cut the travel time between city propers of Suzhou and Shanghai to about two hours. The route was planned as early as a decade ago. “Actually, Line 11 is Suzhou’s sixth subway route and was named in advance back then, indicative of the city’s ambition to better integrate into the Yangtze River Delta region,” said Lu Wenxue, general manager of Suzhou Rail Transit Group Co., Ltd.