The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning body, has given the green light to construction of a new railway network which will connect cities along the Yangzte River in Jiangsu province.

The plan is designed to promote the high-quality development of the economy in the Yangtze River Delta, according to information released by the commission on Jan 2.

The new plan reveals that the railway network will generally connect cities with more than 200,000 residents. And travel times between two cities along the Yangze River will be shortened to under an hour.

In addition, it will take no longer than 1.5 hours to travel between Nanjing, the provincial capital, and any other cities in the province.

The first phase of construction includes railways linking Nantong, which sits at the north of the Yangtze River, with Suzhou in the south and Huzhou in Zhejiang province.

A map of the new railway network in Jiangsu province [Photo/ntjoy.com]