By the end of 2016, railways in Nantong reached 220 kilometers, including the Xinchang (Jiangsu's Xinyi - Zhejiang's Changxing) Railway, Ningqi (Nanjing-Qidong) Railway and Haiyang (Hai'an-Yangkou port) railway.

Nantong had five passenger railway stations – Nantong, Rugao, Hai'an, Bencha and Rudong; as well four freight stations – East Nantong, Rugao, Hai'an and Bencha. Trains leave Nantong in pairs, including 13 pairs of CRH (China Railway High-speed) bullet trains running to Nanjing, Hankou and Chongqing, and 10 pairs of normal speed trains departing to Beijing, Jinan, Luoyang, Xuzhou, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Yichang, Chongqing and Kunming. The trains stop at 103 stations in 13 provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government, namely Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Hebei, Yunnan and Guizhou.