The first freight express service of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway was launched on July 9. The train started in Hai'an, a county-level city of Nantong, and headed for the ports of Yangshan and Ningbo.

It is the first freight train to travel the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway and provides a new choice in logistics for industrial and trade enterprises in Nantong and surrounding areas.

Wang Weiguo, a person-in-charge of the Hai'an railway logistics base, said that the train carried 60 standard containers. Eighty percent of the goods, which include furniture, sports goods, mechanical equipment and photovoltaic products, are manufactured by the industrial and trade enterprises in the Nantong area.

With a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour, the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway is for both passenger and cargo. According to the plan, the new railway is to run six pairs of cargo trains each day.

The freight express starting from Hai'an is scheduled to operate eight trains each week, five heading for Shanghai Yangshan Port and three for Ningbo Port in Zhejiang province. The annual shipment volume is expected to reach 300,000 tons.

By virtue of the opening of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway, Nantong has been optimizing its transportation structure. The starting of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong freight express will not only help relieve pressure from the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge but also lay a solid foundation for future railway-water integrated transport in Tongzhou Bay.

The first freight express of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway is launched in Hai'an railway logistics base on July 9. [Photo/ntjoy.com]