The General Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Government recently issued the "Three-Year Rolling Advancement Plan for Preliminary Work on Key Provincial Transportation Projects (2021—2023)." In the next three years, Jiangsu will start construction of 19 railways. Among the projects planned to start or striving to start in this year and next, several lines including the North Yangtze River High-Speed Railway and the Nanjing-Xuancheng Intercity Railway involve Nanjing.

The three-year rolling advancement plan consists of three major parts: projects planned to start and striving to start in 2021, projects striving to start in 2022, and key reserve projects for 2023, involving a total of 19 railway projects. Among them, the projects planned to start and striving to start this year include six items such as the Shanghai-Hefei section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu High-Speed Railway (North Yangtze River High-Speed Railway). The North Yangtze River High-Speed Railway runs from Shanghai through Chongming Island to Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou, and Nanjing North Station to Hefei, with a design speed of 350 km/h. Nanjing North Station, which the line passes through, is an important gateway to the Jiangbei New Area. In addition to the North Yangtze River High-Speed Railway, the planned Nanjing-Huai'an Intercity Railway, Nanjing-Xuancheng Intercity Railway, Nanjing-Chuzhou-Bengbu Intercity Railway, and Nanjing-Qidong Railway will also pass through Nanjing North Station. The North Yangtze River High-Speed Railway is scheduled to complete the approval of the feasibility study in June this year, complete the approval of the preliminary design in July, and start construction of the first section in December. In addition, the Nanjing-Wuhu Railway capacity expansion and renovation project has been listed as a project striving to start this year.

Among the projects striving to start in 2022, the Zhenjiang-Ma'anshan section of the Yangzhou-Zhenjiang-Nanjing-Ma'anshan Railway, the Shangyuanmen railway river-crossing passage, and the Nanjing-Xuancheng Railway are all closely related to Nanjing. Among them, the Nanjing-Xuancheng Railway starts in Nanjing, passes through Jiangning District, Lishui District, and Gaochun District, and enters Xuanzhou District of Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. It is an important component of the intercity passenger transport system in the "Yangtze River Delta Regional Transportation Higher-Quality Integrated Development Plan" and also an important intercity corridor in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. As early as August 2019, the Nanjing-Xuancheng Railway, together with the Yangzhou-Zhenjiang-Nanjing-Ma'anshan Railway, launched preliminary feasibility study, feasibility study, survey, and design work. It is worth mentioning that both the Nanjing-Xuancheng High-Speed Railway and the Yangzhou-Zhenjiang-Nanjing-Ma'anshan Railway will connect to Lukou Airport and set up Lukou Airport Station. The Yangzhou-Zhenjiang-Nanjing-Ma'anshan Railway runs east-west, while the Nanjing-Xuancheng High-Speed Railway runs north-south, forming a "cross" intersection at Lukou Airport Station. Once these two railways are completed in the future, they will give Nanjing's air transportation "the wings of high-speed rail," helping to expand passenger flow at Lukou Airport and strengthen the efficiency of road-rail intermodal transport.

In the 2023 reserve plan, items involving Nanjing include the second channel of the Nanjing-Hangzhou Railway, the third phase of the Lukou Airport project, and the Jinwen Road river-crossing passage.