According to China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., on June 28, at the track-laying construction site of the Hongqi Grand Bridge on the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway in Songjiang District, Shanghai, the installation and fastening of the last pair of 500-meter-long rail fasteners was completed, marking the full completion of track laying for the entire Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway and laying a solid foundation for meeting the conditions for opening to traffic by the end of the year.

The Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway starts from Shanghai Hongqiao Station, passes through Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province, and ends at Huzhou Station in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The line has a total length of about 163.8 kilometers and a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It has 8 stations: Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Songjiang, Liantang, Suzhou South, Shengze, Huzhou Nanxun, Huzhou East, and Huzhou. It is a major project for infrastructure interconnection among Shanghai, Suzhou, and Huzhou, and also a key project for high-speed railway networking, network completion, and chain strengthening in the Yangtze River Delta.

Track laying on the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway officially began in March 2024. The entire track-laying construction started from Shanghai Songjiang Station and proceeded with direct laying of long rails toward both ends: Shanghai Hongqiao Station and Huzhou Station. The entire track-laying process is characterized by many construction operations adjacent to operating lines, high requirements for operational precision, tight milestone schedules for track laying, and a high level of safety risk.

It is reported that the ballastless track section of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway uses the WZ500E long-rail track-laying machine, with a maximum daily track-laying speed of 12 kilometers. The ballasted track section uses the CYP500 long-rail track-laying machine independently developed by China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group, which has the function of sleeper placement by the group-sleeper method and features easily adjustable sleeper spacing, high sleeper placement precision, and good construction quality, with a maximum daily track-laying speed of 2.5 kilometers. The Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway is expected to enter the static acceptance stage at the end of July this year and to meet the conditions for opening to traffic by the end of the year.

Track-laying operation scene.

After the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway is completed and put into operation, it will further improve the regional railway network layout, effectively relieve the transport pressure on the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou railway corridors, optimize the layout of the Shanghai railway hub, and be of great significance for promoting economic and social development along the line and the high-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

Schematic diagram of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou High-speed Railway route alignment.