A new high-speed railway line connecting Shanghai to the cities of Suzhou and Huzhou in East China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces began trial operations on Nov 23, marking a milestone in an infrastructure project set to further integrate the economically vital Yangtze River Delta region.

At 9:27 am, the first trial operation train, G55505, departed from Shanghai Hongqiao Station, running along the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail line, and arrived at the destination Huzhou Station in Zhejiang at 10:10 am.

The 163-kilometer Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail line has a designed operating speed of 350 km/h. The entire line features eight stations, with two existing stations and six new ones.

Upon completion, the high-speed rail journey from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Huzhou Station will be reduced from around two hours to about one hour.

The trial operations will continue for around a month, with the line expected to be ready for official operations by late December, according to China Railway Shanghai Group.

"The Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail is a significant infrastructure interconnection project for Shanghai, Suzhou and Huzhou. It is also a key project for the Yangtze River Delta region's high-speed rail network integration, densification and enhancement," said Feng Chenglin, deputy head of the Shanghai railway hub project of China Railway Shanghai Group Co Ltd.

Feng noted that after its official opening, the new line will effectively alleviate transport pressure on the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou rail corridors.

"This is crucial for promoting high-quality integrated development in the region," Feng added.

Wei Qiang, a senior engineer from the China Railway Shanghai Group Co Ltd, said that the trial operations mainly involve testing operating schedules, simulating faults, conducting emergency rescue drills, and on-schedule operations in line with test outlines.