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The groundbreaking ceremony for the Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing intercity railway was held on July 13 in Shanghai, Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Jiaxing in Zhejiang province respectively, according to local media reports.

It is the first fast commuter railway in the Yangtze River Delta to span two provinces and one city.

The Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing intercity railway starts from the Shanghai Hongqiao Business District in the east, extends to Jiaxing downtown in the south, and extends to Wujiang district in Suzhou in the west.

The total length of the railway is 170 kilometers, with a total investment of about 94 billion yuan ($13.94 billion).

The Zhejiang section of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing intercity railway includes two lines, the Jiashan-Xitang line and the Jiaxing-Fengnan line, with a total length of 55 kilometers and a total investment of 26.5 billion yuan. The section is expected to begin operating in 2028.

"The Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing intercity railway will implement public transport operation," said an official of the Jiaxing Development and Reform Commission. During peak hours, the departure interval is within 10 minutes, and passengers can use their bus cards to board the train, he added.